Defining Justice
by HappySlasher
Summary: Another look at the Shield's rise to dominance. Slight AU. Slash
1. Chapter 1

Okay and here comes a new fic. I just couldn't help but dip into the shield pool because I love them too much.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Period.**

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"Hurry up, you filthy greaser! I don't have all Friday evening!" His unruly English boss called out. Dean sharpened his gaze for the fifth time that night as he finished polishing the paint job on his clients motorcycle. A full three days worth of work had payed off on the beautiful black Harley. Paid well for his custom bikes, Ambrose was really trying to ignore any criticism or plea he work faster. He'd take as much time as he needed especially since he wasn't even sure who this motorcycle in particular belonged to. His boss had just told him to start on it quick.

Ambrose shook off anything his boss had to say as he finished completely. There was no time to admire his work; it was late so he needed to get paid and leave. He wiped off his hands on his back pocket handkerchief, turning expectantly to his boss. "Done, now where's my pay?"

His boss examined the bike closely, appreciatively. A smirk crossed his face. "It's amazing what a kid like you can do. No good at anything but fighting and yet this is-"

"Whose paying me, Regal?" Dean interrupted, crossing his arms.

William Regal stopped ogling the masterpiece and shoved his hands in his pocket. "Pro athlete, Wade Barrett?" He waited for some recognition from the younger man and continued. "Asked me personally to get this job done."

"Okay, so?" Dean shrugged disinterestedly.

Regal shrugged back as well almost mockingly. "We'll he's my nephew so I told him not to worry about the price. Consider it a gift." A light smile came across his aged face when Ambrose's began to fall from disbelief to severe anger. "So, no money this time. I'll pay you for the whole week but this job in particular was just-"

"This was a ten thousand dollar job!" Ambrose blurted out furiously. "I replaced the clutch! I put a new filter in there! I even went out of my pocket to buy the paint!"

"Which is why I'm paying you today instead of that two week bracket you're usually put on." Regal held out his hands defensively but smartly as though he wasn't cheating the man. "Now considering I paid you last week, that's incredibly generous from your boss."

Dean laughed desperately in fury but held out his hand. "Yeah, regular payroll follows the two week cycle- I get that- but that's for repairs. I get paid on the spot for custom jobs. This was a custom job so while I appreciate the offer of my biweekly check early, I'd rather get the money you owe me for this now!"

Regal shrugged the young man off. "Well I don't care what you'd rather do. The gift is already paid for so forget about the money and go home already," he spat out distastefully. William heard the silence and pointed out, "And striking me would not be in your best interest. Wasn't it already hard enough for you to get a job before me? Who else will give you a chance if I fire you?" As he spoke, he turned around to his employee wielding a heavy set of pliers above his head, stopped physically by the threat but still mentally carrying out the task. Regal smirked widely. "Pfft, filthy little greaser," he hopped on the bike and drove away to deliver it.

Dean waited; waited silently, shaking in fury with the disappointment he held on a daily basis for his job. Cursing loudly, he threw the pliers across the room and wanted nothing more than to destroy the shop. Of course, that was out of the question. Couldn't do that when he had to come back and work again Monday.

He read off the check and sighed about being ripped off again. A measly thousand dollars. "Blows man..." He mumbled dejectedly and packed up his things. At least he could head home.

For him to have worked so well on bikes, Dean didn't have one of his own. He walked everywhere which wasn't exactly safe especially with the cities back alleyways. Anyone else would advise against going through the area at night with a case of beer and bags of food but then again, he could very well defend himself so there was no big problem. After a tiring two miles, he'd ended up at his shanty apartment building.

The owner of the building, Mr. Rhodes, was a round old man who preferred everyone just call him "Dusty". Dean actually didn't mind him. He kept the place to rent to young people in the neighborhood that needed it at a much cheaper price than most apartment buildings. Dusty himself was in the mist of getting the place upgraded so everyone's rent did go up a bit but that was fair since they as tenants asked for the upgrade.

He saw the old guy at the top of his stairs, easing on to his room for the night. Dusty waved to Ambrose and went for bed. Dean acknowledged the wave and kept walking up the stairs to his place. Exhaustedly he unlocked the door and went straight for the couch, plopping on it face first.

"Guys," he yelled into the couch cushions, "I brought snacks!"

There was a moments silence before Ambrose's roommate paraded out the back room. Hearing the heavy footsteps, Dean could already tell who it was so he didn't have to look up from his relaxer of a couch. "Good to see you made it home safe, Rome."

Roman Reigns: a large, long-haired Samoan.

It was policy from Dusty that each tenant have a roommate so the little money most of them did make didn't all go to rent. Splitting rent let them have a little money left over so Dean was raking in cash with Reigns here. Roman was a bouncer and body guard at a local night club- one of those back alley places where you needed a password to get in because there was bound to be illegal things going on. It was a pretty dangerous place to say the least.

"You concerned? I don't think I believe that one." Romans deep chuckle was surprisingly lighthearted. He leaned across the top of the sofa and studied Dean. "Something must've happened at the shop today. Asking a question like that, I'd guess you're trying to forget whoever ticked you off."

"Or maybe I just wanna get lost in what your day was like," Ambrose retorted. "Ever consider that?" He rolled over to his back on the sofa so he could look at Roman who had leaned more into the man.

Roman's hair fell as he looked down at the mechanic so he brushed one side behind his ear. "No, I didn't consider that because I know you. Now, wanna tell me what happened?"

Dean rolled his eyes and threaded his fingers in Romans long hair, perking a bit at the scent. "Your hair smells really good."

"Washed it before you came in," Reigns answered softly.

"Islandy... like...tropical fruit."

"Islandy? Okay, I'm done," Reigns laughed and went to pick up the things Dean brought in. He left the chips and beer on the coffee table by the couch and put the rest away in the fridge. "It's a good thing I brought home food today too. You didn't get much."

Ambrose folded his arms behind his head and kicked off his shoes. "Be grateful! If its that much of a problem, I'll go back to the store in the morning!"

As he finished his mini rant, they both became alert hearing the lock jiggle but calmed as they heard the keys next. Finally the door opened to their last roommate and more bags of food.

Seth Rollins: a lean but fairly muscular, two-tone haired young man.

Rollins worked as a tattoo artist but he did odd jobs around the area so he brought in a bit more money. Not being as mentally unstable as Dean himself or as threatening from his stature like Roman, Seth could actually find decent work. Seth was the youngest by a year or so but he was the first to room with Ambrose. He'd seen the kid enough times throughout the years to know he was in the same boat as Dean. They were kindred spirits.

All three of them.

Seth walked to the kitchen and threw the groceries on the counter before going to the living area to slump down in a chair across from Dean.

Ambrose sat up a little, "Glad you could make it in too."

Seth arched his brow and turned his attention to Dean. "Did something happen at the shop today?"

Roman laughed at the irony and gave Dean the "told you so" look. Ambrose just shook his head and fully sat up. "Well fine. If no one will let it rest, I'll just spit it out. Regal stiffed me for some cash again."

Roman plopped down beside Dean, shrugging. "So that's nothing new. Why's it bother you this time?"

Dean reached for his beer. "It was a ten thousand dollar custom job." He already knew the extent to which his roommates would react and they were just as shocked as he initially was.

Rollins sat straight up, no longer slumping but fully alert. "That's at least three months rent! Why would he do that?!"

Popping the cap, Dean drank a little and sat the drink down. "Says the guy was his nephew or whatever. I don't know...don't care." He shrugged plainly. "All I do care about is the day I get to take a monkey wrench to the back of his head and lock him in that garage with a bike still running. You know, let him choke on a little carbon monoxide. Get rid of him for good. See if he'll rip me off then. " Dean drunk more of the beverage before digging in his pocket a little excitedly. "He did give me this week's check though. It ain't much, only like one grand, but I can put up five hundred for this months rent. I need the other five for supplies. It seems like I'm bringing in less and less every month for rent... Sesus!" He threw the now empty can at the wall in frustration.

Roman pulled out a roll of cash next and sat his seven hundred on the table next to Ambrose's check. "I asked to get paid today so I can't expect much for the next two weeks but I know rent's due soon so here. The nightclub owner is my cousin so he's a little soft. I'll keep the other three hundred for groceries and things we need in the apartment. We really need more shampoo. "

Seth opened his wallet and threw another seven hundred on the table. "Okay so thats about nineteen hundred. Now how much are we short? Only one hundred, right?" Seth opened his wallet again and pulled out the last bit. "It'll leave me with a couple of twenties and I'll just use that for lunch this week."

"Finally", they all sighed. There. They had two thousand dollars. They were safe this month.

The men went back to snacking and drinking, Seth joining the other two on their couch. It was ritual for them to sit together on a Friday night and watch a good movie but nothing was on so Dean just flipped through the news channel. You actually got more news just flipping through different stations. They all had the same stories anyway. Each story became more depressing than the last but the trio just watched with unchanging eyes.

Seth was the first to talk. "The world is really falling apart."

Dean shrugged nonchalantly. "I know but not everywhere."

"What do you mean not everywhere?" Rollins looked at him strangely and laughed lightly. "I doubt that the world crumbles in every place but one."

"Well it's true, okay? I've seen it." Ambrose defensively shouted. "Some places aren't like this. Guys like us can actually get a break and you don't have to fight so hard to get a chance. In some places there is still justice for sinners like us."

"Sinners like us, huh?" Roman leaned into the couch and stretched his arms fully across the back, smiling lightly to Dean. "And you really believe that?"

"Yeah I do," he answered smartly.

"I don't know," Reigns shook his head. "Just doesn't seem like it from here." The man's opinion was only further emphasized by the murder stories on back to back channels.

"Okay, fine, don't believe me." Dean rolled his eyes and began to yawn, folding his hands across his stomach. "But when we get there I don't want anyone saying anything to me."

Seth smiled as well and turned to Dean, beginning to yawn himself. "Oh, so we're going there?"

Ambrose looked annoyed at the question but it turned to a soft and embarrassed pout. "Of course. I'm taking you, genius. Why wouldn't I? I care about you two and none of us belong here. When the time gets right we're breaking camp and going somewhere where I can make enough money to spoil you boys. I mean I like violence and blood as much- no, more than the next guy but it's not our scene. This living hand to mouth thing doesn't suit us."

Roman chuckled deeply and ruffled Dean's hair. "Spoil me, huh? I guess I could get used to that. What about you, Seth?"

Rollins let his head drop on Dean's shoulder before he nuzzled his neck. "I don't mind being taken care of."

"We'd all take care of each other," Roman added. "That's how you wanted it, isn't it?"

Dean nodded closing his eyes tiredly. "And no ones gonna undermine us or kick us to the curb or step on our fingers anymore. It would be what I think we deserve: a life much better than this." Roman reached down to grab Deans's hand affectionately while Seth grabbed the other, grateful for a tender moment after enduring the gritty all sat there basking in the thought until Rollins let out a particularly long yawn.

"I'm so bummed out, work was killer today." Seth laughed sleepily. Roman nodded and patted both their shoulders to draw his roommates to their bed.

He stood first and the other two followed to their shared bedroom. Being more awake than the others and already in his sleeping clothes, Reigns sat back and watched them change. For a guy that got so dirty throughout the day, Ambrose had such nice skin; soft and far less bruised than you'd expect from a "sinner" like him. The same was with Seth. The only abnormality was the tattooed lettering down his spine but that wasn't something a man like Roman resented. Having a full sleeve tattoo himself, he was biased at how it enhanced beauty. Eccentricity.

Ambrose threw on a wife beater, he and Seth sharing knowing glances. "Geez, Rome. Could you make yourself anymore obvious?" He smirked playfully to the slightly older guy.

"Yeah Rome, someone's doing some serious perving," Seth smiled mischievously as well.

Roman tried to suppress the smirk to his roommates. "Will you two just get in the bed already? I thought you were so bummed out and tired."

"I'm sure you want us in this bed, huh?" Dean stretched flirtatiously before going back to being worn out and crawling into his spot in the middle of the bed. Before the others could climb in, Dean had to snuggle the pillows and get comfortable.

Seth climbed in next with a big yawn. He had long since found comfort balling up and snuggling into Dean's side, arms locked around his waist. Roman laid on Dean's arm so he could nuzzle his neck while one of his arms guarded Ambrose's chest. Their sleeping arrangements were well rehearsed and of all the things they lacked in the crummy one bedroom apartment, having one bed was actually a plus they would say. Thinking no more of it, the group fell into slumber.

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So it's a bit AU but I wanted to do a shield fic too badly. I am still working on my other stories but I think I'll finish this one faster so be patient with me please and just enjoy ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Eight clients wanting sleeves in one day; what a busy Monday. After another excruciatingly long day, Seth trudged up the stairs to the shared apartment. He knew he'd be the first one in tonight though. Dean said Regal would start him on another custom job and Roman said the club was having ladies night so he'd be on duty for at least three more hours. Considering when they were expected to get in the place, he also knew they'd probably want dinner. Cooking a nice little meal was first on his agenda.

Approaching his floor, he overheard persuasive talking from his neighbors, Briley Pierce and Brad Maddox. The two young men did comedy acts in a little cafe down the road. They were close friends but stopped themselves from getting involved with one another, mostly because Dean had a serious problem with hearing their escapades through the walls. Even still they liked to talk to the trio whenever there was some kind of hookup. Everyone wanted desperately to leave that area of the city.

"I'm telling you, the guy is great for this type of thing, Bri."

"I don't know, Brad. He seems shady."

"Who seems shady?" Rollins pushed himself in the conversation.

Brad looked incredulously at the man for popping up but went back to sharing the scoop. "He's a promoter."

"Promoter? For what?" Seth questioned.

"Well he didn't say but listen," Brad started, "you know the cafe we work at is sponsored by a guy named Foley, right?"

"Yeah," Seth nodded. "He's a pretty well known guy."

"Famously rich guy." Brad had to correct him. "Well while Bri was on stage, I was doing my rounds as per usual whe-"

Seth skeptically eyed the man. "Rounds?"

Briley rolled his eyes at Maddox, "Scouting the wealthy."

"Really? Scouting them for what?"

Brad shrugged with his movie star grin. "I spend a couples hours with most of them. They invite me back to their place and we talk business." Something about the wolfish grin on Maddox face told how he wasn't giving a complete answer on purpose. "Sometimes I get money from the encounter, sometimes it's information." Which was true. Brad had played a great part in getting Dean a job with the wealthy Regal.

"Anyway," he continued, "there was this old guy there- balding, kinda chubby, wrinkly, but in a three hundred dollar suit- so I figured he was loaded. I walk up to the guy and he says 'you have an innocent face...I think you can help me out, kid.'" Brad laughed a bit at the fact that he was nowhere near innocent and reached in his pocket to retrieve a card. "He said the first job he'd give me would have a twenty thousand dollar pay."

Seth's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "Twenty thousand?! On the first job?! What are you supposed to be doing for that kind of money?"

"He didn't say but he said it wasn't labor, cleaning, or drugs so I thinks it's pretty safe."

"And I've been telling _Brad_," Pierce stretched the name, "that's murder money. You know, money to keep you from talking. I just don't trust this guy, Brad."

Maddox waved off the man's warning and went back to talking. "But I can't give him a call until I've found some more guys. He said that I'm going to need some man power so I've been trying to recruit. Me and whoever I find could split the whole forty thousand-"

"I thought you said twenty thousand," Seth intervened.

"We'll it's forty thousand whole so I figured I get twenty and the other guys get twenty. I guess I was just thinking ahead of myself, right?" Brad smiled mischievously but it replaced itself with a knowing curiosity. "You live with two other guys, right? Ambrose and Reigns...why don't you keep this card and call him if you're on board. Tell him Brad referenced you," the infamous Maddox smirk was back on his face as he ushered Briley back into their apartment, leaving Seth to ponder.

The young tattoo artist flipped the card front and back before looking at the name. "Paul Heyman...?" What kind of job could he have in store for them? Would his roommates even want the extra job? Questioning himself so much, he didn't even realize he had transitioned into the apartment and was still analyzing the business card. Truly the man was secretive; the card had no indication of what he promoted or even who. Gazing over at the clock, Rollins sat the card down to rush and make dinner. Maybe they could have a nice pasta...spaghetti? Seth agreed with himself and got started right away. He wouldn't give that Heyman guy a second thought until he was finished taking care of his boys.

The next day Seth found himself getting home first again and with no neighbors to hold him up, he jumped right on dinner. It ended up being regular cold cut sandwiches and potato chips but he was sure it would be appreciated. The guys wouldn't be so late again so he expected them pretty soon; soon enough that he'd have time to bathe and watch tv for a while. He'd probably opt out the second part and exchange it for the idea that was smothering his thought for the past daily hours.

He needed to touch bases with that Paul Heyman guy.

It had been haunting him. Even as he showered he felt compelled to at least call. That twenty thousand dollars was so alluring.

The only thing stopping him was the fact that he didn't mention it to the other men. If they were as skeptic as Briley than he should've forgot about it. Then again, he didn't ask them in the first place and if they wanted to do it, Seth may have waited too long to get the job. Then that would be twenty thousand down the toilet. His hands were a bit tied.

Finally he just went for it. Grabbing the card, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number on it. Patiently he waited for the man to answer.

"Hello?" The man answered in a slightly annoyed tone.

Seth cleared his throat and began to converse, "Hello sir, is this Mr. Heyman?"

"Yes." Another annoyed answer.

"Well I was calling to hear about the job you'd offered to a friend of mine. Maddox? Brad Maddox?" Seth hoped Brad had a good enough connection to Paul that the man remembered him.

"Oh yeah, innocent face!" He could tell by the banter the man on the other line was smiling. "Now what is it I can do for you?"

Seth folded his arms and switched his weight to one foot. "I was wondering the same thing. You need man power, right? Well I think I have two other guys-"

"You think? Well I'm sorry , young man but I can't tell you what the job entails until you're certain about working for me. I'm a very important business man and, letting you know what I need done when you only think you want to do it, isn't good for business." Paul smartly interrupted. There was little annoyance this time, just the matter-of-fact tone.

Seth quickly came back, "Well I know I want to do it. I'm just not sure about them. I haven't fully explained-"

Paul interrupted once more, "And if I told you every detail, and you told them every detail, and they decided not to do it, it wouldn't be good for business." Heyman slightly chuckled at Rollins distressed sigh. "Listen, kid. I kind of like you so I'll give you an ultimatum. Discuss this with your guys, call me back by tomorrow night and give me an answer. I'll hold the job for you."

A bit excitedly and very grateful, Seth spoke. "Th-thank you so much, sir."

"What's your name again, kid?"

"Seth Rollins," the man answered with relief.

Paul inhaled boldly, "Alright Seth Rollins, I'll be waiting for your call. Goodnight."

"Good-" Before Seth could answer the man hung up. "...Night."

Seemingly sensing the right moment, Dean and Roman walked in together, chatting it up but trudging from the workload. Seth quickly sat the phone down and went to accommodate their arrival by grabbing their dinner. Dean and Roman plopped down on the couch in their usual spots while Seth made himself comfortable at his end. The boys didn't need to say anything. Their chewing was enough.

After a while, Dean and Roman went back to talking- this time including Seth in their discussion.

Dean wiped his mouth with his hand as he finished his food. "So Seth, Rome and I were just talking about how when we get out this place, it should be together. Maybe one day we'll all go separate ways if that's what you two wanna do but we have a better chance as a trio. We don't need anymore people and nobody's lacking on their load, you know."

Seth nodded sort of curiously. "Sounds good to me but what made you think we'd leave otherwise?"

Now it was Roman's turn to speak. "Well Seth, it's obvious you pull in more money than either of us; Deans always getting beat out of his cash and the club scene isn't that great. Even so, I just thought...what if? What if you wanted to go on without us? If you found a decent paying job somewhere else, what would we do?" The large man shrugged in defeat, questioningly looking to Ambrose and Rollins. "Because we wouldn't stop you."

"No," Dean shook his head. "No we couldn't."

"Right." Roman agreed. "We wouldn't want to hold you back like that. So what would we do then?"

Dean looked kind of bummed from the idea but tried to cover it up with a straight face; however, his next statement showed his feelings. He folded his arms and subconsciously snuggled into Roman and Seth's arms as he sat back in between them. Negatively he started, "I just don't think we should go at it alone. Whatever we do I think we should do together." Dean shifted his gaze towards his hands uncomfortably. "Guys like us have had to make it on our own for years. Why not enjoy having someone you can depend on for a change, you know?" The long quiet after his question made him look up to see large smirks on his roommates' faces. Embarrassedly he yelled, "What?!"

"Its amazing how affectionate you really are." Seth giggled, patting Dean's leg lightly. "You're such a hopeless romantic."

"No I'm not!" Ambrose shoved Seth's hand away offendedly.

"And it's cute too." Roman chimed in, throwing an arm around Dean's shoulder. He and Seth chuckled at Ambrose's obvious distress about the topic before Dean went into one of his cussing fits and huffily stomped away from the men to sit by himself.

Seth smiled to the pouty mechanic and his eyes wondered to the phone by him. Immediately he went to bring up the topic. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you guys something."

Dean made a gun with his index and middle finger. "Shoot."

Set rolled his eyes at the bad joke before going on. "Well yesterday I was talking to Brad and-"

"Who?" Roman inquired.

"Maddox? The guy next door?"

Dean sucked his teeth distastefully as realization hit him. "That blabbermouth? I don't even want to know what he's been telling you."

"No, it's about this job-"

"Ugh!" Ambrose threw up his hands huffily.

Rollins laughed lightly and turned to the men, "No seriously, it's legit. He gave me the guys card and I called him. Check this: he'll pay us twenty thousand dollars."

Reign's and Ambrose's eyes nearly popped out their head. "Twenty thousand?!"

Dean smiled a bit too excitedly for his previous demeanor. "And what kind of job does he want done?"

Rollins looked to the card he had curiously. "He says he can't tell us until we say we'll do it."

There was an eerie silence as the two older men shared worried looks. "Seth," Roman shook his head, "I don't know, man. That sounds like drug money."

"Or prostitution money." Dean rang in.

"Yeah, that too." Roman nodded.

Seth rolled his eyes again and sighed. "But what if its not? What if its our ticket out of here? We played the 'what if' game earlier so here's the new scenario. What if we pass this moment up? How much longer are we gonna stay here?" He was on his feet now, staring at Ambrose, who had slumped down to get comfortable in his chair, and Reigns who was upright on the couch. "And I can't do this job without you. He needs at least three guys who are willing to do anything."

Roman and Dean looked at each other once more, leaving a wave of silence between them. Finally after a while, Dean smirked defeatedly. He threw his hands up carelessly. "Ah what the heck. We'll just be three hot prostitutes together, right?"

All three shared a quick laugh and Seth went to grab his phone in triumphant excitement. "What are you doing?" Roman questioned. Seth looked back to him while dialing on the phone.

"I'm calling to accept the job." He put the phone up to his ear and waited nervously, adrenaline running through him. Finally there was an answer.

"Hello? Paul?...Yeah, we're in."


	3. Chapter 3

They worked one more day to receive their last checks. As evening grew upon them, Roman broke the news of his resignation to his boss very bluntly. No longer would he work at the club. He was sure Ambrose and Rollins were off doing the same thing with their respective bosses as they agreed to leave their respective jobs. After all, tonight they'd get their new orders.

Paul had also requested the men tidy themselves up as best as their expenses could allow- the color to wear being black. For the trio that meant black slacks and dress shirts. Both Seth and Roman tied their hair up in neat ponytails while Dean slicked his hair back. Each shaved as necessary ranging from clean shaven Ambrose to lightly trimmed Rollins. Gathering up what little spare money they had, the group made plans to head to the specified district.

As they exited the apartment, they met the overjoyed eyes of Brad Maddox. The group of four was to leave together since it was rightfully Brad's job as well. Besides that, he had a car, so quickly they went on their way.

Seth sat up front with Brad while Roman did what he could to keep Dean from strangling the very talkative driver. It was a long two hour drive but Reigns managed to keep the guy sane until they reached their destination.

Shined to perfection as if there was a crew to wash the building daily, A large condo with dozens of floors stood proud against the moon that peered over the other skyscrapers. The place definitely seemed like it housed the wealthy. Living like this, twenty thousand was probably chump change to Heyman. That's more than likely why he gave it away so freely.

Brad wasted very little time before striding his way into the building. He may not have belonged there but he would trample in like he owned the place because that was just Maddox for you. On the very top floor of the building, their destination was reached. At the end of a long dim hall was the door to room 1201; the door to their future.

Thinking of it like that, made Roman a tad nervous and by the way Seth fidgeted, he could tell the man was nervous as well. Dean on the other hand was more skeptical than anything; his skepticism leaning more on the danger possibly lurking behind the door. He'd keep protecting the group above all else.

It was either Brad's naivety or his guts that allowed him to forge ahead and go through the door first- which ever it was caused the group to follow.

Quiet and empty.

The completely clean apartment was unfurnished. The only things worth batting an eye at were the new lights, the new carpet, and the newly painted walls.

Brad took the first steps by calling through the home. "Hello?! Is anybody here?!" Maddox shoved one hand in his pocket and used the other to cup his mouth and call more. "Is there a Paul Heyman here? Paulie?"

"Bradley?" An annoyed voice called from somewhere in the house. Immediately Seth perked up at recognizing the familiar voice. He stepped forward but was blocked by his overprotective roommates. From around the corner bobbed the generous man who was granting them this opportunity, Paul Heyman.

Brad flashed his charming smile, strutting over to Paul. "Well, I'm here. I brought them and we are ready."

Heyman rolled his eyes and walked around the overly joyed young man to examine the trio. Eyeing them up and down he began to nod. "Perfect. You three are exactly who I needed. Paul Heyman," he reintroduced himself with a smile that was far too devious to have good intentions.

"Seth Rollins again, sir."

"Dean Ambrose."

"Roman Reigns."

Each shook the portly man's hand before Seth cleared his throat. "So about the job..."

"Right," Paul nodded. "So I guess to help you understand your role, it'd be better if I explained what exactly I do."

"Promoter, right? It's what the card said," Roman squinted his eyes with focused curiosity.

"Correct."

"So what do you promote?" Ambrose asked, folding his arms.

"Well..." Heyman searched for the best words. "I promote important figureheads- guys who if it weren't for me, wouldn't get a chance in society. Guys who have been pushed aside because they don't fit in but have all the potential in the world. I'm the man who gives those guys the opportunities that no one else would dare. Now on to your job," Paul's hands danced with his words. "My newest client is a man simply known as CM Punk."

Dean's eyes clenched shut as he chanted the name softly. "Punk. Punk. Punk...oh yeah." Finally his eyes popped open. "I heard a few clients talking about his impressive streak. Championship fighter, right?"

"For over a year and still counting," Paul smirked smartly. He continued on, "Anyway, I'm not sure if you are aware of this but his personal views seem to have put him in bad graces with officials of his division. A lot of higher ups want to take what is rightfully my champion's and I can't have that."

Roman licked his lips briefly, "So where do we come in?"

Again Paul smiled, "My client has a small pre-fight press conference tomorrow and a match in two days. All I need from you three is to be there ringside for the match."

All three men looked to one another curiously."Do we attack or something?" Seth asked in slight confusion.

"Not this time."

Roman inquired, "No interference or anything?"

"Nope."

"Nah..."Dean shook his head and rubbed his newly shaven skin, stepping up to Heyman a bit more. "I'm sorry about our skepticism, sir, but you have to see it our way. Giving four young guys you just met forty thousand dollars just to watch a match doesn't sound too legit, know what I'm saying?"

Heyman chuckled and pointed to the last of the group. "No, I think you misunderstand. Maddox already has his orders and you're simply there in case things go in the wrong direction but I know that wont happen because you're not going to mess up are you, Bradley?"

Brad questioningly looked between all the men and smiled large but nervously. "Not for twenty thousand, I won't," he laughed nervously once more.

Paul nodded to him. "See I didn't think so." Heyman shrugged and turned towards the door. "So I have somewhere to be and I'll see you at the press conference tomorrow afternoon."

"Wait Paul!" Seth called out. He waited until the man fully gave him attention. "If you don't mind me asking, why are we here?"

"Because you decided to work for him?" Brad sarcastically answered.

"Not like that," Rollins retorted, rolling his eyes. "I mean here," he emphasized the word by stomping on the carpet beneath his shoes.

Heyman perked up lightly, "You mean this location? Oh," he looked around. "My client just moved out so I got it redone for you four to stay in here. I figured it was enough space for all your belongings and it would be too much of a hassle having you commute two hours every time I needed your services." He began to walk towards the door and threw the keys to the shocked men. "Take it as a small thank you from CM Punk himself." The man smiled widely and left.

Maddox was the first to move after Heyman's departure and he let off an excited squeal. "Would you look at this place? This is what happiness looks like." He rubbed his hands together somewhat hungrily and walked around the place.

The other guys shrugged lightly and followed him through out the home, splitting up after a while. Dean scouted the bathrooms, Roman examined the kitchen, and Seth admired the master bedroom.

"Woah guys, check this out..." The youngest was heard beckoning his friends. Quickly Roman and Dean strutted to the bedroom, pausing in their tracks at what they saw. One whole wall to the side of the room was like a giant window, equipped sliding glass doors leading to a gorgeous pool outside their bedroom.

"Unbelievable..." Roman whispered.

Seth turned to his roommates and noticed a small smile playing across their lips as they were still entranced by the view. "Amazing, right?"

Dean nodded and walked up to the glass, placing his hand on it yearningly. "Boys," Ambrose was hard to understand sometimes but at this moment he was too readable. His joy was empowered by the bright smile he wore. With a determined smirk, Dean whipped around to the other men. "We're getting there boys and one day soon it'll only get better."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Rollins, Reigns, and Ambrose wasted little time getting what they could loaded onto a U-haul and taken to the new place. They turned in their keys with little hesitation but a lot of complaining on Dusty's part. He whined about his disappointment in their affiliation with Heyman. Neither knew he had any knowledge of the man but whatever he had to say was ignored; they didn't care what warning he had. The opportunity had presented itself too well.

After packing all they had, the trio was about to get ready to leave when Brad came running out. A somewhat serious look on his face, he moved his hands a little confusedly. "I think I'm going to try and find another place for uh...me and Bri..." He pointed back to the run down apartment building. "I don't think he could handle living by himself, you know? That's why his brother asked me to take care of him. The guys an idiot!" Maddox laughed embarrassedly. "So I'm going to stay here with him until I get a new place."

Dean smirked knowingly and Roman cranked up the truck, a light smile tugging his own lips. Seth leaned from out the window of the U-haul and dapped Maddox up. "Hey, get as many out of here as you can. Reach back."

"Leave no one behind," Brad finished. He cracked his signature smile and waved the men off. "I'll see you three at the press conference."

The ride was very quiet as the men enjoyed each others company but more over their own excitement of life picking up. This was finally the first step. With all that "better life" Dean had been spewing about seeming a little more in reach, Roman and Seth couldn't stop smiling. Ambrose had a pretty prideful smirk on his face himself but it flickered on and off. Ambrose was obviously unsettled by their sudden turn of good fortune. Things didn't just fall into place like that- not for him anyway. He'd just be on his guard for when things fell apart. Even still, he allowed his mind to drift to the peaceful life. Finally he'd show them exactly what he meant and that that place really existed just for them. They'd just have to have a bit more patience until he got the money they'd been promised.

Upon reaching their newly acquired condo, they were met by their newly acquired boss. Ushering them quickly, Paul coaxed them into a limo and allowed some movers to unload their truck. He didn't explain too much, just that he had gotten the boys uniforms to work in and he was personally dropping them off at the press conference before he picked up his client. The ride to the arena holding the conference was filled with only Heyman's voice as he dealt and haggled over the phone. He didn't talk to the men until they arrived and even then he only told them to change into their new clothes and wait for him in the locker room.

Hours passed in the locker room as the group discuss everything from the excitement of the presented opportunity to the criticism of their new all black attire: black turtle neck sweaters, baggy black pants held up by a belt, and black combat boots. Maddox arrived before Paul but he relayed orders; the businessman simply wanted the young guys to listen to Punk. As per his wishes, the group did just that and, once they got over his exotic appearance, they actually connected with the man.

He said he was the voice of the voiceless. He said he wanted to bring prestige to a title that had been tarnished in the ring and he said he wanted to pave the way for guys like him that people never thought would amount to anything. He talked about righteousness versus self-righteous, respect versus disrespect, the reality of his sport versus what people think happens; all the most taboo topics with all the profanity live television could handle. The radical punk rock fighter was spunky and it made the group feel a lot more comfortable helping Heyman's cause.

When everything had wrapped up, Paul texted the men that he'd send another limo to take them home as he dropped Punk off. The ride was swift and they were at their new home in no time. They waved Brad off before making their way upstairs to their door. Sure that they'd have to rearrange things, Roman sighed as he unlocked the door but again to their surprise, everything was arranged to perfection- their furniture polished and dusted while many of the electronics had been upgraded. The flatscreen on the wall and surround sound system were minor examples.

"Heyman is an angel," Seth whispered to himself astonished still.

All three men composed whatever more they'd have to thank him for until tomorrow. It was late now and they were worn out. Their bed was calling.

In their bedroom all three boys basked in the way the moonlight drifted onto the well made bed. They'd climb in bed together not missing home one bit and grateful for their first job the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

"And how was that, boys?" Heyman laughed as he sat in the upscale condo with his hired help.

Sitting ringside during the show, the trio saw everything just unfold before them: Heyman's client CM Punk had a cage match with a leviathan by the name of Ryback and just when he was closing in to get the title one very familiar referee went rouge and cost Ryback the match.

"Brilliant. Simply brilliant," Paul complemented himself while pulling out his wallet. "No one ever pays attention to the referee so no one suspected a thing and Brad played the role so well! Maddox did exactly what I needed him to do and now my champion's title run stays untarnished!" Heyman laughed a tad maniacally and turned to the men while tugging his briefcase over towards him. "For your friend to have such an innocent face he is a little weasel. As soon as the match was over he ran up to me, demanded his cut of the pay and hightailed it back to his side of town. But that's alright. He got what he wanted and so did I."

There was a brief silence as Paul opened his wallet to pull out a small key. "Hey sir," Seth lowly began to ask. "Does uh..." He cleared his throat to start his question again. "Your client, Punk, does he write his own speeches and stuff- like from the press conference yesterday?"

Heyman gave him a puzzled look but as realization acted on him, he clutched the key proudly. "My client doesn't need some numbskull from public affairs to guide him. He's all original. He is the voice of the voiceless, the voice of guys like you and I can tell by the way you ask the question that he must have reached you at the press conference. I assure you boys, you may be skeptical about me but whatever I ask you to do for that man is nothing short of justice." He looked amongst the men for affirmation but Ambrose's gaze just redirected him to the briefcase.

"That our money? Open it," he demanded. The older man was only happy to comply and slowly pulled out each stack of cash, counting off the thousands as he went. Tension had been mounting but when he reached that twenty-thousand mark, everyone was left wide eyed and a bit breathless.

Paul smiled and began to leave. "You don't have to worry about rent or utilities so do with it as you please. I'm not going to call you until about a month from now when my champ is forced to fight again but I implore you keep up with him through the media just to know who his enemies are. And if you do that... I don't know. Maybe I'll double the pay, make it forty-thousand." Three pairs of wide eyes turned to him and he waved goodbye to the group to leave them with their cash.

As the door locked shut, Seth was the first to ease over to the stacks of money and pick one up. He was still breathless. "This is unreal."

Roman came over next. "Unbelievable."

Dean eased to his knees in front of the pile next and a wild grin cascaded his features. "All ours." The other two looked up and began to smile hard. "Boys, it's all ours!"

The men all cheered and threw up the money in emphatic excitement, getting livelier by the second but coming down from their high enough to hear Roman speaking up.

"What do we even do first? Do we spend it on a new car? Do we put half of it away?"

Seth's stomach growled noticeably loud and his eyes shifted embarrassedly. "Maybe we should get dinner." The other guys chuckled rather happily, still stuck on the euphoria from their upturn in finances.

"Pizza it is then," Dean chimed in and went over to the phone. While he waited for the restaurant to pick up he gazed in his short nails questioningly. "What if we go out to dinner tomorrow night?" He shrugged.

Roman and Seth smiled lightly and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Dean returned the nod and his attention went back to the now answered phone. "Yeah hello? I'd like to place an order for delivery...delivery is extra? Well that's okay. I don't mind paying," again the group shared a laugh.

Even a month later the trio still had money left over. Not even half of it was gone mostly due to Ambrose being adamant about saving. They weren't quite living the sweet life yet but they were close to it. Their schedule consisted of frequent trips to various shops around the city. Poor area stores and rich area stores were exceptionally different. Then the crew would go to the gym for training. Paul felt it good initiative to let the talented young men learn to fight like Punk. They'd even been scouted a few times by other promoters admiring their physique as they worked out; however, every offer was turned down.

It wasn't that they weren't into the boxing scene but having to fight for most of their young lives, they wanted a little break, considering that kind of fighting as a last resort. They'd kept many business cards though, for if the Heyman well ever ran dry.

Over the time, the team had followed CM Punk's rivalry and above all else, they admitted he was excellent at his job. Even with all the continuous controversy surrounding his lifestyle, right to keep the title, and too revealing mouth, the champion was a world class boxer.

Again, the month was winding down and Seth got another call from Heyman. It was predictable since Ryback came back into the picture steamrolling for the title again so the team huddled up by the cell on speakerphone to see what Paul had in mind.

"We'll my client is in a predicament with this one where they're going to change the match to a triple threat. What that means is in two days he doesn't just have that ogre Ryback to worry about but now he has that other guy, John Cena, to worry about."

"Okay," Seth shifted from one foot to the other. "So we're just ringside again? Brad's going to be ref-"

"No. He's gotten too much attention from last time so I cant openly keep contact with him but I've provided him with a generous sum and let him on his way. Anyway, this time I had something different in mind," the guilty yet devious way Paul sounded made the guys a tad nervous.

"Well what did you have in mind?" Roman piped up while folding his arms across his chest.

There was a long pause before the man continued. "There's a sports bar about two blocks from the arena, The Friendly Tap, where I know for a fact many of the other superstars go the night before a fight. Ryback and Cena are going to be there and it'd be unfortunate if maybe they got injured in a bar fight."

Dean caught on way before Paul could even finish. "So you want us to rough these guys up? How badly?"

"...Punk needs to stay champion." The simple statement alone had spoken volumes and each man huffed worriedly. "But listen," Paul's voice reassured, "it'll all be worth the forty thousand you receive at the end of the job."

The boys tilted their heads lightly in agreement but still they weren't so sure. "So tomorrow night? We do this at that bar tomorrow night and be...discreet?" Seth asked.

"Any way you like. Quick, slow, discreet, obvious: just get the job done. I'm counting on you three." Heyman finished up sternly and ended the call.

Preparing for the work ahead, the group decided to turn in early. No one got much sleep though, each mind racing with the events to unfold the next day.

After a good hour of lying awake in the dark, Seth had to speak first. He sat up off Dean's waist and looked down at his obviously still awake friends. "Do you think maybe we shouldn't do this?"

Roman sat up off Dean's chest next, pushing some of his hair out his face. "Why doubt it now, Seth?" Reigns himself had been fighting internally as well but if the others held it in he had planned on keeping his composure. With Seth showing worry, Roman wasn't nearly as confident in his decision. "Why not just do it without thinking so much?"

The only one who seemed unaffected by the whole ordeal was Ambrose. The man sat up with his messy mop of auburn hair and stared at his hands. He didn't say anything, just allowing the conversation to continue while he listened.

"I'm just saying, you heard what happened with Brad. He didn't even tell us about our own friend being cut off until now. He gave him hush money, you heard him say it." Seth argued. "We're talking about really busting up, brutally beating a couple of guys that we don't know for thousands of dollars." He could see that his words were weighing on Roman's shoulders. "Look, I just want to make sure we're doing the right thing helping a guy like him, helping a guy like Punk."

Roman sat with his elbows on his knees and shrugged defeatedly. "I wouldn't know what to tell you."

"Right, wrong, eh..." Dean interrupted. "I trust Heyman about as far as I could throw him and while I do believe in Punk..." He scratched his head lightly and went back to his hands. "Sometimes it's not that black and white, Ro."

Dean rolled his tongue around in his mouth before inhaling to start again. "You know, Dusty always told us that we shouldn't be afraid to step on someone's toes trying to get what we want. So then I used to think, was it wrong taking someone shot just to get what you want? Well it came back full circle: they stepped on someone's else's toes to get what they had. Wouldn't it be karma for their opportunity to be taken from them? Its fair. What goes around comes around, right, but is it justice? Is it justice or just an excuse we use as people to undermine the fact that we're taking someone else's dream away?" Dean let the question float in the air before looking to each man. "So, which is it?"

Rollins swallowed thickly. "Which did you pick?" Seth and Roman eyed Dean, searching for answers.

Under the dim moonlight invading the room, Ambrose's eyes shifted back to his hands. "For a long time I said karma was justice but then I thought about all the killers, and murderers, and rapists, and liars that get away with all theses things and I said 'nah'..." He turned his intense eyes on his comrades. "There's no justice in that."

Not wanting to ramble too seriously, he lightened the conversation a little. "Now in this gray area, I've found that there's different kinds of justice. There's lawful justice, humanistic justice; all types but they have too many rules and exceptions, too many flaws. So I decided to define my own justice." Surprisingly gentle hands came up to tangle in Seth's soft mane. "Justice where what you're fighting for is more important than who you're fighting." His other hand traced down Roman's thick tattooed arm. "Justice where survival by any means is righteous." Ambrose let his mind drift lightly as he closed his eyes. "Justice where the only people that matter in this world to me are here and everyone else is just a stepping stone." Immediately after finishing, his hands retracted to fold over his stomach and he lied back down on the pillow. "Of course, you two are welcome to decide where your justice lies but that's my take on it. I'm ready for this job tomorrow and I'm going to make sure Punk keeps that title- especially if him keeping that title is my ticket to getting us an even better life. Besides, this is the type of work I expected so its a grain of salt on my shoulder."

Seth bit his lip thoughtfully and let a grin ghost his face. He threaded his fingers in Dean's hair and sighed. "You make it sound so easy, so sweet, so uncomplicated when you say it."

Ambrose yawned and closed his eyes. "It is that easy. The only things that matter to me in this world are you two. If what I have to do to survive benefits someone else, it's happenstance."

"You talk so much about justice." Roman smiled next and leaned down to cup Dean's chin, turning his head and attention to him. "But it's an injustice how much you talk, you know." Being pretty blunt when it came to emotions, Reigns didn't hesitate to silence the lying man with a soft kiss.

Seth didn't miss out on any of the affection, squeezing in to do the same. Rollins left light butterfly kisses along Dean's neck, feeling a chuckle reverberating along his throat.

Soon enough, Ambrose pushed both men away and situated himself, feigning annoyance. "Alright. We need to sleep. We've got work tomorrow."

Seth and Roman gave each other a sarcastic look and went back to attacking Dean's neck with small pecks here and there. He tried to push them away again but they were persistent. After a while he let off a loud string of curse words and hopped out the bed. "Where are you going?" Seth laughed mischievously while Roman licked his smiling lips.

"I'm sleeping on the couch. A guy can't even get some sleep around here without being molested." He huffed as he left the room to finally try and sleep but as his room mates got up to follow him to their sofa, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Maybe they wouldn't be as prepared for the job tomorrow as expected.


	6. Chapter 6

"So I guarantee, tomorrow I'm regaining the title and while Punk's probably out at some comic shop, the champ...is...here!"

Dean rolled his eyes in annoyance at the bar crowds' constantly loud chanting and cheering and raving. Sure he enjoyed chaos but this was obnoxious... repulsive. Almost as repulsive as the women throwing themselves on the boxer, John Cena as he enjoyed himself on the dance floor.

Along with other faces of pro athletes, Ryback was spotted, drinking alone at the end of the bar. He hadn't focused on anything besides his drink all night.

Two long hours of waiting for the men to leave and the guys were growing impatient. Very impatient. The more Dean watched Cena the more fueled he was to beat the life from him, something about the athlete really annoying him. His buddies knew about his craving for violence but with so many people around they hoped to suppress it until the time was right. Even still, it was nagging at Ambrose and making him fidgety.

"You okay?"

Dean's eyes shot over to Seth pleadingly, begging the man to allow him at least one shot right now. "I want it bad, guys. Just look a him. Indulging. Living in his own little bubble like none of this is gonna matter in the morning."

"No, we can't yet," Seth threw a guarding arm in front of Dean. He leaned over to whisper amongst his mates. "We have to stick to the plan, remember?"

"Well we can't commence with the plan if they aren't doing anything!" Dean hissed out as he whispered.

"Guys," Roman called getting their attention, "look." He nodded in the direction of Ryback, who was getting up and preparing to leave the bar out the back door.

Seth moved his arm and began easing out the booth they sat in. "Great. Lets move."

Dean was the next to ease up as a sick smile came to his face. "Perfect. I've been waiting for this."

"Rome, you know what you're doing, right?" Seth asked softly as he kept his gaze on Ryback's retreating figure.

Roman stood last and folded his arms, smiling a bit sinisterly as well. "Yeah, I got it. Don't worry about little Johnny here." He saw his room mates off and went to set the plan in motion.

Ryback walked out the backdoor into a fairly dark alleyway. Closed in somewhat tightly by two buildings, wreaking of alcohol and trash, and paved with shattered glass along the ground, the smoggy insert was displeasing to public eye and therefore secluded. It was a great place to escape from paparazzi though as he made his way to his car.

Walking down the alley, he stopped momentarily. For some reason there was this eerie feeling that he was being followed. He shook it off and kept walking but then he was sure he heard footsteps in synch with his own. Ryback remained calm however, choosing to continue his walk on his guard since he was approaching the opening to the street anyway. Just as the opening came in sight, so did Rollins as he stepped from a wave of smog to appear before Ryback.

The big man squinted slightly and stopped. "Who are you, pipsqueak?" He snorted a bit, "let me guess, an angry CM Punk fan mad at what I'm going to to to their champion?" Before Rollins could answer, Ryback heard the footsteps behind him again and turned around to see Ambrose's figure rise from the mist. The way Ryback read both men's expressions told him this would not end well for him. "What is this?" He asked. There was no answer so he yelled again, demanded, "What is this?!"

Then the men closed in and attacked; throwing left and right hooks, uppercuts, whatever their fists could dish out to keep the man down. He was strong though. Ryback easily shoved one and tried to deal with the other, their persistence and agility the only thing keeping the big man at bay. He wasn't nearly as fast as they were combined but after a hard knee shoved into Rollins stomach, agility didn't exactly matter. He hunched over, gasping for air, when Ryback threw another punch that landed right on Seth's jaw, leaving an instant bruise and him reeling from the blow.

Ambrose was on his own now and for him that was nothing new. He fought Ryback off as best he could until the man shoved him back against the wall. At that point Dean did what he did best: survive. Reaching around on the ground he found an old fork that had seen better days. He waited until the leviathan charged at him and he jabbed him with it in the shoulder, drawing some blood but not enough to worry about. Paul said rough the guy up not kill him. Out of breath and running on pure adrenaline, Ambrose took the next step and lunged towards the man, kicking and punching as he went. Though the fork got him out the corner, it was easily shoved away this time and Dean took a punch dead in the mouth, blood from his busted lip and ringing teeth painting the oral passage.

Ambrose wiped his mouth and spit out more of the coppery liquid, highly pleased that he had landed a blood bearing punch across Ryback's nose as well. Ryback on the other hand wasn't so pleased. Inhaling harshly he stomped over to the men and raised his fists only to soon find himself on the ground.

Dean himself hadn't seen what happened until familiar black rose from the concrete and he understood Roman had speared Ryback. While the big man held his abdomen and writhed in pain, Dean took the time to bring Seth to his senses and coax him into continuing their dissection of the nuisance. Again the boys stayed on the attack, clawing and bruising whatever they could get their hands on. They continued until he was knocked out and Roman called for them to drag him over to a dumpster right at the end of the alley. With Dean and Seth on the assist, Roman picked Ryback up and power bombed him into the steel dumpster.

Heaving and sweating, the men all looked to one another blankly, still high from the tense moment, still filled with so much adrenaline.

Roman sighed and slid to the ground. "It's a good thing I came out here when I did. You two look bad."

Seth ignored the statement. "How'd it go inside?"

"Ruthless," Roman emphasized fondly. "I didn't even have to do a whole lot of bottle breaking either. Cena had more enemies than I would've thought but he definitely isn't walking out of there. Some guy put him through a pool table."

Dean sucked his teeth making Seth laugh slightly. "Would've liked to see that."

"I'm sure." Roman shook his head in amusement.

His ears perked at the sound of sirens and immediately he jolted up. They really didn't need to get caught up in that; especially since each already had a police record. "We gotta go." Reigns helped the men to their feet and sent them running, flashlights starting to bend the corner into the alley.

The darkness became a close friend to the trio as they escaped down more labyrinth like alleyways. The officers that arrived on the scene hadn't suspected a thing and the group wouldn't let them. Shrouded in the night, they ran like there would be no tomorrow if they stopped. No one was sure how long they had been running but Seth had a pretty keen sense of direction. Small landmarks guided him and consequently them through the city. It wasn't long before they ended up in front of their home. Quickly they retreated to the confines of their condo and locked the door, plopping on the foyer floor in exhaustion.

Dean was the first to regain his breath though the look in his eyes still held a fire, a burning thrill from getting to fight again. It was only emphasized by his tongue constantly probing his wounded lip. He examined the others and a smirk crawled onto his face, the top row of pearly whites in full view. "You can feel it, can't you? Both of you can. I can see it, in your eyes," he pointed to his own bright blues. "Satisfaction in my kind of justice...you found it. You like it. You've embraced it."

Seth searched the man's face questioningly until he started his own trail of hardy laughter. Rollins ruffled his hair and gave a weird smile, scrunching his nose a bit. "I guess I do like it. My jaw's a little bruised but other than that, I do feel pretty good."

Dean shifted his gaze, "What about you, Rome?"

The Samoan was chuckling at this point too, beginning to push his hair out his face as it always seemed to fall. He shook his head. "You know, I don't know how to answer that. All I know is it felt right tossing Ryback into that dumpster. It felt right causing Cena to get a bottle broken over his head." Reigns chuckled happily, "Heck, it felt so right watching you two beat a man unconscious."

Dean's canary eating grin only grew and he lied back in the carpet. "So you enjoyed dishing out justice a bit too much, I see." He laughed and teased his wound again with his tongue. "Now I feel like I've worked for that money."

"Same here," Seth muttered while stroking the bruise.

All three men basked in their moment of glory, not yet wanting to come down from the high but knowing that they needed to for bed. They were sure the high wasn't completely over yet; they'd be able to view the product of their actions at the fight the next day and they couldn't wait.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm really thankful for the reviews and favorites! I'm glad someone enjoys this like I do! :)**

* * *

Dean, Seth, and Roman heard their assignment on the television before Paul even called. They had been successful in their attack which lead to the evenings' festivities. Punk was having a celebration for his ongoing reign as champion tonight at The Friendly Tap and Paul simply needed the men as insurance. No one was to stop Punk's celebration.

Of course when a angered yet still injured Ryback tried to get involved, the team did the same as last time: apprehended the man, took him in the back alley, beat him, and left him in a dumpster. The only problem with this attack was that it wasn't so undetected and unlike last time, the media was all over them.

"Who are these three vicious renegades? What do they want and who are they working for?" Headlines read boldly, News reporter's blabbed blatantly. Over the next week every radio station buzzed with the question, "Who are these men dressed in black?"

:::

"You're newly signed talent." Paul almost innocently answered.

He had been prepping the boys all week for the interview he set up with a show on the sports network. He didn't seem too surprised over the incident- actually seeming to have expected it.

"Signed talent? To the boxing league?" Roman questioned, discomforted by the whole ordeal.

"Well why not? All you'd have to say is that you came up from the developmental territory and you've been working the independent circuit for a while. No one will check the records for you and if they do, I already have people in place." They could almost see Heyman shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "This will all take care of itself."

Seth blew out an agitated huff and shook his head. "Sir, we're still sorry about getting caught. I mean, we didn't know-"

"Oh please," Paul interrupted calmly. "I told you it's fine. Besides, you go running in alleyways you should expect rats. No big deal. Anyway, consider what else you're going to say at the shoot. You're smart young men. Surprise me." He chuckled lightly and bid them farewell.

:::

"We're about principles. We're about honor. We're about honor where honor no longer exists." Dean sold his words to the interviewer as he and his comrades sat in the interview room.

They'd been asked everything so far, all the way from their names to where their alliances lie. Just as Paul asked, they denied any contact with Heyman or Punk- blaming everything on happenstance. Dean and Seth answered the questions, Roman feeling the need to keep his comments to a minimum. When he had something to say, he'd say it.

"We're a shield for justice." He looked to Seth for the okay and went to speak again. "We're a shield." He turned to Roman this time awaiting a confirming look. Finally he turned back to the interviewer confident in his declaration. "We are the Shield."

The interviewer wiped his forehead from the tension in the room and looked at another notecard. "Alright guys now-"

"Wait," Roman interrupted. He stood up and fixed his bulletproof vest. "I got something to say. This interview is over." He snatched his microphone off his shirt and gave the men the nod to do the same. Seth was next to stand with Ambrose in tow. Leaving many questions unanswered, they exited the interview room of the television station.

They got dozens of passing glances as they left out the building but they were ignored for the most part. There was another incident similar to the interview where the group attacked popular talk show host, The Miz and after that attack there were even stranger gazes. Again it was seemingly ignored until they got outside in the parking lot where Dean had the most to say.

He spun around flamboyantly to his shield members, while pulling out a cigarette. It waved around in the air as his hands danced to his words. "You know, I get the feeling people don't like what we said." He smiled a little and walked backwards to the rental car they were traveling in. "Did you see those looks they gave us?" The smile had contorted into a sick grin as he hopped on the hood. "Dirty, right?"

Rollins approached Dean and snatched the cigarette from his hand, tossing it aside. "Yeah I saw but who are they to judge us, huh? They're the unjust, the unclean, the ones who've lost their morality. We know what we stand for, so who cares?" He opened the door and slid in the backseat of the rental.

As he spoke, Dean's lips pursed before he reached in his pocket and grabbed another smoke. "No one and that's the problem. People don't care who they follow because they don't know who to follow. But it's alright. By the end of this all people will know who to believe in. They'll know to believe in the Shield."

Just as Ambrose was to put the cigarette in his mouth, Roman made his presence known next and yanked the smoke from his lips. "Believe in the Shield," the repetition was forced through gritted teeth as Reigns crushed the cigarette in his hands and let it sift to the ground.

Dean watched the remains blow in the wind and sighed. "Well that was my last one."

"Good. We don't like you smoking anyway." Reigns chuckled before parading to the drivers' side and getting in.

Dean rolled his eyes towards the limit his friends gave on his individuality. What was so wrong with smoking when you got a little stressed out? "Man, I need something in my mouth," Ambrose blew off. He distastefully sucked his tongue for emphasis and shrugged, realizing he wasn't getting another smoke. Maybe Roman hid gum in the car like usual. He crossed his fingers playfully before going for his seat on the passengers' side. He never did get in the car though as he felt a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around and pinning him against the car door. "What the he-"

Rollins and Reigns couldn't get out the car fast enough. While they wanted to help Dean, they didn't attack his attacker. By the guy's uniform, they could easily tell he was an officer. It was cringeworthy thinking of why he was there.

Seth bolded up and yelled to the man. "Hey what are you doing? Let him go!" As sharp grey eyes shifted in his direction, Rollins swallowed thickly. He hadn't expected such a sinister chill to crawl over him.

The intruder's eyes slowly rolled back to his prey and he pinned the young man further to the car. "Look man, what do you want?" Reigns aggressively spoke up this time. "Who are you?"

The officer blinked slowly. "Officer Randy Orton. As to what I want... well," He applied pressure to the hold he had on Dean until the man started gasping for air and squirming about.

Seth and Roman both moved to help but stopped after ferocious glares from Orton. "C'mon, that's police brutality! We ought to have your badge taken for that!" Roman threatened.

Randy snorted, "Three punks working for Paul Heyman trying to get me in trouble? After those assaults you three carried out recently, I don't think any officer in this city is out to help you."

Seth jerked a little in annoyance. "Just leave us alone. We didn't do anything wrong. We aren't working for Paul and those assaults were staged just to build hype for our arrival in the boxing league."

"Don't mock me, kid. I know how this business works. I bet Paul pays you plenty, right?" He looked to Roman, knowing his face would give away an answer. "Just like that little brat, Maddox, I busted up last week. You three are in that same ring, aren't you?" Randy bantered to Dean next. "Yeah, he'll take good care of you as long as you have something he wants. Now...I wonder which one of you warms his bed." Randy's eyes scanned each one, falling on Seth with an impish grin. "You, right?"

"Excuse me?!" Rollins had to contain his rage from the insult.

"Look!" Reigns held up his hand defensively as to draw everyone's attention to him. "Right now, you don't have anything on us, okay? So why don't you just let us go and leave us alone?"

Randy stood dully for a moment before tossing Dean aside. He walked around the car to Roman and stood towering a bit over the younger man. Reigns could easily intimidate a normal sized guy but officer Orton was taller and just as built, making him the intimidator. A sneer contorted his face as he leaned in. "Leaving you alone is the furthest thing from my mind. You boys have written your own death wish with this stunt." Licking his lips, he sternly said a mocking, "Believe that," and walked away.

The men fell silent and Ambrose was all that could be heard as he gagged for air following Orton's chocking pin. "Son of a-" More coughing broke his sentence and Dean cleared his throat, massaging the part. "Who does he think he is?"

"That's what i'm saying! Did you hear him? Like I lay down and spread my legs for anybody!" Seth still hadn't gotten over the earlier absurd assumption. He shook his head in repulsion before staring at where the officer once was. "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit and I'm going to talk to Paul about it." With a final threat, Seth jumped back in the car, a killer pout on his face.

Roman rolled his eyes at the overly dramatic act but he too had been unsettled by the cop. He visually nudged Dean and they both got in the rental to pull out the lot. This was definitely unexpected.


	8. Chapter 8

Weeks passed and the trio experienced more changes to what used to be a simple job. They signed with the boxing league legally, earning a contractual signing bonus, and were placed in main event caliber matches. Dean, Seth, and Roman looked to be on the path that allowed them to abruptly jump on the title scene. Nearly another month passed and they all three were big time fan favorites. The paid attacks on certain superstars continued and everything seemed to be fine; however, the gripe with officer Orton didn't just blow over as the group would've hoped.

Instead, Paul worried about it constantly, needing a daily report on whether they encountered the police. Usually there was nothing to report but every other week they met another cop that was willing and able to lock them up. In that time they met Officer Sheamus- who was in the same boat as Orton, Officer Bryan- who had a complex with asserting himself as a threat, and his partner Kane- who was actually a criminal that the legal system used in cases of brutality. Each had the same initiative and impulsive drive to rudely introduce themselves with assault to a shield member followed by vowing to eliminate the young upstarts. It was more annoying than threatening to the renegades but the trio knew it would come to a head soon.

And it did just that when the group went out to celebrate a well fought night of victories in that boxing ring. They made arrangements to have a nice night at The Friendly Tap but when they scouted Ryback, Kane, and Daniel at the bar, they knew better. Having better things on their mind, they looked over the men and walked to a booth in the back. All appeared to be going well until Dean went up to a pool table nearby.

"Hey, I'll rack 'em up." He walked to the pool stick rack, grabbing two sticks in one hand and a single stick in the other. As he turned to come back to the group, a frustrated groan escaped him. It was almost too expected that Ryback stood in his way. Quicker than he realized, Seth and Roman were coming to his side. Dean sat the sticks down and smirked in a smug way. "What now? It's three on one, big guy."

The obvious anger radiating from the large boxer was only intensified as he barred his teeth to the men. Seth flicked his wrist cautiously but showed false confidence in his dismissal of the brute. "Just forget about it, Ryback. There's no way you could take us on alone. We'll just do the same thing again."

"Then how about we even those odds?" The groups's taunting eased, turning them stone-faced as Kane and Bryan arrived to the boxer's side.

Dean's light cursing could be heard but he didn't waste any extra time before grabbing the laid down pool stick and breaking it over Ryback's head: the first blow to begin an all out brawl.

Fist after fist rained down as the men mercilessly fought tooth and nail, with little regard for anyone's safety in that sports bar. This knowledge alone caused the place to clear out rapidly.

Reigns was the first to get his attacker down, hitting a vicious spear on Kane into the antique jukebox in the corner the room. Done with that, Roman dusted himself off and rushed over to help Rollins as he took on Bryan.

The two-on-one assault was classless as a symphony of kicks brought the officer to his knees. A big right hand from Roman followed by a swift kick from Seth was enough to keep him down and just that quick, Bryan was out.

All that remained was Ryback who seemed to have Dean at his wits end, having busted him open again by the mouth. Roman reacted fast after seeing the blood. Without too much thought, he ran to tackle the large man only to be spun and redirected into Ambrose's ribs. He wasn't sure if the gasp he heard from Dean, Seth, or himself was loudest but louder than that was the sound of Dean's head snapping back to bounce against the floor. Watching the man writhe in pain, he didn't notice Ryback closing back in for the kill. Luckily, a shrill yell from Seth, diverted his attention.

Rollins had perched up on the bar's countertop and was prepared to launch himself at the Goliath. Just as he crouched down to jump, Kane, with his last bit of strength, shoved the young man off sending him crashing through two nearby dining tables.

Ryback walked over to check on the kid, a sick laugh escaping his throat at the sight of the broken body. He bent down to further torture Rollins but never got the chance. Dean and Roman were back on their feet and viciously scratching, clawing, and biting to keep Ryback away from their fallen friend. Passion behind each punch, the two systematically beat the man to the ground. Sure that the leviathan was stunned for a while, Ambrose and Reigns tried to revive their comrade from his dazed state but Ryback was starting to stir much quicker than anticipated.

Growling, Roman scooped Seth up and tossed him over his shoulder, motioning for Dean to hurry along with him. Not only was the beast boxer getting back up but the barkeep had called the cops earlier in the brawl and they didn't need to be harassed any further. Dean didn't like the tactic one bit but obediently he fell back, placing a wad of cash in front of the barkeep on the bar's countertop.

"When the pigs show up, those three started it, alright?" He gave the man a threatening glare before leading the way in their escape.

Twisting and turning, the group ran down the secluded alleys, lost in the previous moment but slowly coming down from their adrenaline fueled high. It always seemed like they calmed down at just the right time, when they arrived at their shared home. Exhausted sigh.

Upon entering the condo, Roman was impatient to nurse the injuries of Seth in their bedroom while Dean occupied the shower first.

He laid Rollins out on the bed and changed his clothes for some pajamas. Sure the room mate would have massive aches in the morning, he also prepared some painkillers by the bedside for convenience. By now he was exhausted. Roman helped himself up and trudged to get his own sleepwear ready while he waited on Dean. Afterwards he sat down on the floor against the bed on Seth's side. The minutes passed and before he knew it, he had dozed off.

A small poke to the shoulder made him flick his eyes open and they soon focused in on the face of Ambrose. Roman groaned lightly and rolled his neck, which had grown stiff from it lolling back against the hard bed frame. Ambrose was kind enough to help up the generally grumpy man, getting a bit of flack for taking so long.

"We'll aside from a busted lip, someone had the back of my head bleeding from a rough spear on the ground. I had to wash all the blood out of my hair." The smart answer was accompanied by a pout but Roman's apologetic eyes made him drop the subject completely. He sighed playfully and shoved Roman's thick shoulder. "I'm surprised my ribs aren't bruised with something like this running through 'em. That was intense."

Reigns didn't smile or play along, too sleepy to be flirting. He lifted a hand and massaged the back of Dean's head before pulling him in close to press their foreheads together.

They let the thick air encompass them for a while as Roman breathed in the clean scent embodying the other man. He inhaled deeply and exhaled just as rich, allowing Ambrose to relax more into his touch. Always on the defensive side, Ambrose was tense habitually so Reigns took great pride in giving his partner this time to just let loose a little tension.

Dean briefly swallowed before grabbing the other man's wrist lightly just to get some attention. Eyes met before they were lowered to who knows what. "It can't happen again." The telepathic communication was read clearly on both sides and they both drifted their eyes over to Seth before going back to each other. "He's young and reckless. Our number one priority should be watching out for him. I took my eye off him and he nearly killed himself. Seesus, I cant even look at him laid up like this... Rome, we can't let that happen again."

Roman simply nodded and walked around to his side of the bed. He tossed his shirt off and stripped down to his boxers, climbing into bed. "I don't feel like showering tonight." A caressing hand swiped stray blonde strands from the resting man's face and soft eyes were downcast on the sleeping expression. "Let's just get some rest," a demanding yet suggestive statement emitted towards Ambrose, one in which the man couldn't just say no. Dean shrugged and eased in his spot on the bed, also beginning to play in Rollins' hair.

This went on for moments until Dean rolled over to turn towards Roman. The man had obviously done the same as they both looked to one another.

Dean licked his lips and nearly whispered. "On our way from the bar, I noticed something. I noticed that...even though we're in the limelight we still have to run in darkness. We live in this fancy condo but still mark gravel in alleyways. We're out in the open for everyone to see but we're hiding everything we are from society." He chuckled lightly. "Like...where do we even go at this point? How long do we follow Heyman? What do we do after he doesn't need us?" His shrugging shoulders could be seen in the dark and Roman nuzzled into the man.

"We'll see. You'll have thought of something before that time comes. This is the kind of thing you do, right? Survive?" Roman gives off a yawn and starts to drift again.

Dean catches said yawn and let's his head conform to his pillow. "I guess you're right. When the time comes, we'll sustain." The final words as the men all slept.


	9. Chapter 9

"We never thought it would have to come to this."

"Really, we didn't want it to."

"But some things are too important to give up just like that, Maddox."

After the six-man bar fight, Dean made it clear to his roommates that they would have to truly live their doctrine of justice. Nothing and no one mattered more than the three of them. Anything that interfered with that would have to be eliminated. Almost coincidently, the current issue rose:

Paul got rid of Brad. Brad wanted vengeance. Maddox went to the head of the boxing league with alleged proof of Paul's misgivings and, consequently, proof of the Shield's involvement in the acts. Their contracts were suspended and they were put on ice by Heyman since he was being investigated, stagnating the income they had become accustomed to.

This also meant that they couldn't freely enjoy the money they still had. They could barely leave out the house without running into an entire army of law enforcement who wanted to punish them. They were back to where they started- trapped physically, financially, and socially. They carried on for days like this until an unsuspected call came in from Heyman. His request was brief but concise.

Destroy Brad Maddox.

Make sure that Maddox wouldn't run his mouth to anyone ever again.

That was the test. Could the group really do such a thing to the very man that helped put them in their position? The three silently feuded with themselves over the case, all the while gearing up for their assignment.

Now here they were in some secluded basement standing over the young Brad as he cowered by their feet.

"Guys, c-cmon! It's me, it's Brad!" The wavering plea from Maddox was tearing Seth apart, causing him to look away from a guy he had grown close to. Brad's eyes frantically darted from Seth to Roman to Ambrose. "You can't do this to me! I helped you out! We come from the same thing! We're supposed to be friends, remember?"

Seth cursed violently loud and fell back. He just couldn't take the tension.

Dean nudged Roman to check on Rollins while he further approached Brad.

"Now Ambrose, I know we've had our differences but please...you don't need Heyman, you don't need his money, you're better than this." The sobbed words whined out of Maddox's throat as he tried to escape captivity under Dean.

The Shield member sighed heavily to erase himself of any emotional attachments to the situation. If Seth couldn't hold out to do it, he knew he would. "Sorry, Brad." Dean held little remorse in his eyes as he traced bandaged fingers along the clean shaven face of his friend. "I really am and on a personal level, you're an alright guy." Hope began to spark in the pale scared eyes of Maddox. "Of course this isn't personal." A chill ran through Dean, literally feeling the fear heighten in Brad. "It's just business."

Before Maddox could register anything, Dean was behind him, chocking him out to bring him to the ground. He gasped desperately, kicking his feet while doing his best to pull Ambrose's thick forearm from crushing his windpipes. Just to make everything worse, the first official blow didn't even come from Dean but Seth who was so conflicted that he unleashed his rage on the downed young man.

Dean aided in holding the former friend down but didn't try to help in the attack. Roman wouldn't either, knowing full well the caution of accidentally getting caught up in Seth's crossfire. The look in his eyes were manic as he pounded away at the guy under him. It was obvious how much it hurt Rollins to be doing this and the two toned Shield mate would make Maddox hurt much worse just to ease some of his pain.

It took all of Roman's strength to pull the attacker off after countless warnings from Dean. They were trying to beat the man not kill him as Seth would've had he carried on. Big arms gripped Rollins until he was reduced to a tense heaving mess and that's when they all took the time to see the damage.

No one had known when Brad passed out but after a few blows from Seth, he didn't scream or struggle. By the way he gargled blood and coughed on the ground, sputtering and whining in chronic pain, they knew he had bad internal injuries. He was a bloody mess from his mouth to his nose and bruises showed on every inch of exposed skin.

Ambrose and Reigns worriedly looked to Rollins who seemed like he was coming to his senses as he assessed the damage as well. A shaking hand came up to cover his shocked expression.

"We have to get him to a hospital," Seth finally chocked out. He waited a while before yelling the command again. "We have to get him to a hospital now!"

Dean perched Brad's mangled body against a crate nearby and shook his head. "No. I'll call the number Seth, but we have to go. You didn't kill him, he'll be fine. C'mon." On his command, the group followed Dean back to retreat.

:::

"Seth? How you holding up, kid?" Roman patted the younger man on the head in concern for his troubled state.

Seth hadn't moved from his spot on the couch since they returned and he kept his face buried in his hands. It had been killing him just remembering the aftermath of Brad's downfall. It was killing him knowing what he did to his friend for the sake of money- for the sake of a conniving man that none of them trusted. It was like a betrayal of everything they stood for...and yet it was enforcing everything they stood for.

Reigns sighed heavily with deep pity aimed towards his friend. It bothered him how rattled Seth had gotten especially in comparison to how his other roommate was handling it. Ambrose had nonchalantly entered the home and jumped in the shower, relaxing in the bedroom afterwards as if nothing had happened. With Dean acting that way, Roman wasn't sure who to be more worried about anymore.

"If you don't want to talk, I won't make you." Giving up, he patted Rollins' on the head again and turned to confront Dean in the bedroom but a gloved hand being raised stopped him.

Dark chocolate eyes began to peer up at the plain wall before them as a weary head was raised. A strangled whisper was barely heard. "Rome...what did I do?" Seth clenched his eyes shut and began to pull at his hair frantically. "What did I do? How could I..?" Those same eyes forced Rollins to turn around and look to Roman for comfort. "Rome, Brad was our friend and we nearly put him in a morgue."

"It was in the name of justice." Dean intervened from the back barefoot with a t-shirt and a pair of boxers on. He somewhat lazily trudged into the kitchen and went in the fridge, his hands automatically retrieving a beer can.

Seth incredulously contorted his face in confusion. "We had to beat up our own friend...in the name of justice?"Anger started to build in his tone, evident amongst the group.

Dean popped the top on his can and shrugged. "No one said justice was free. It has its price."

"That's justice? Are you kidding me? Well your justice is flawed! " The raspy way Seth yelled back at the older man shocked Roman but only caused the eyebrows on Dean to furrow down defensively.

"Ay!" Dean was too hasty as he slammed the fridge shut, dropping off the beer on a countertop and made long strides to approach Seth so he was in full view. He pointed two thin fingers to himself. "It's not flawed! I said there are all kinds of justice and mines puts me first! I didn't say you had to be on board with me. I gave you the decision. I gave you the choice and this is the type of thing that happens!" Ambrose huffed mockingly. "What about the rush you felt, huh? That's flawed too? What happened to the guy that 'kind of liked' the feeling?"

"Okay, yeah it's a thrill doing what we do but it was different when it was guys that we didn't care about, Dean." Seth scoffed almost disgustedly. "This wasn't some guy that we just needed to rough up. This was our friend, a guy just like us. You talk about it like you don't care."

Ambrose's eyebrows shot up this time in disbelief of the statement. He walked around to the front of the couch animatedly slow. "Are you kidding me?" He chuckled humorlessly before bending down so he was directly in Seth's face. "Seth," Dean licked his lips, "It sounds that way because," speaking concisely. "I don't care!" He let that sink in until he started again. "I don't care because this isn't new to me. It happens all the time. It happens every day of my life. Its been like this for the past twenty-eight years! This little incident right here just personifies my life. Welcome to my world!" In mock grandeur he threw his arms open much to Roman's disturbance and Seth's distaste. The tension stood as he held his arms out and it only thickened when the smirk as well as his arms fell.

"And that's why I fight." In all the uproar, stray strands of auburn hair fringed Dean's face. He swished them out the way and folded his arms. He had calmed down considerably. "I fight so things like this don't have to happen but until that time comes, I just have to stand what my screwed up life throws at me. You want me to say it? Fine, I'll say it. I was a little bothered about beating up Maddox but what I understand and what you need to understand is that it was just business. Leave your personal feelings out and you'll be fine." Finishing his rant, Ambrose took his beer and plopped in the chair across from Rollins.

Seth couldn't take being out of his seclusion any longer and right away he was buried back in his hands. Roman came down from the moments intensity and went to go get two more beers for Seth and him.

Dean shook the incident off like he did everything, down played it till it seemed menial- or at least he tried. Mid sip, his cell rung and he reached on the coffee table to retrieve it, not recognizing the number. Curiously he answered on speaker phone. "Hello?"

"Hello? Dean, is this you? Listen its Briley. First off, congratulations and I'm glad things are working out for you guys. We always knew you'd get out the hole quick." Happy playful laughter, "Anyway I was just calling to see if you'd heard from Brad? He was supposed to pick me up for a date but it's pretty late. I'm just worried, you know since he's still dealing with that Heyman guy. What if he's in a ditch somewhere and he needs me?" There was a long pause for some kind of response. "Hello? Dean, you still there? Hello? Hel-" a swift hang up.

After the call, Seth almost broke down just thinking about how Pierce would react when he got the news. Roman had to console him quickly but what neither saw coming were the soft sniffles from Ambrose. Dean wasn't much of a crier but they could tell he was on the brink. The usually strong man buried his face in his palms next, swiping harshly and cursing to himself. All of the building incident had secretly been killing Dean too it seemed. While it was hard to watch, it made Seth a bit happier knowing Ambrose did have a heart to care.

Roman was the only one not close to blubbering but he was just as disturbed. "Heyman's a sick guy." Seth agreed and leaned his weight over on Reigns.

"I cant take this anymore!" Dean shook his head roughly as he became angry, scanning them with his watery eyes, the unusually pale blue color making him seem much sadder. A long finger crooked towards them and he narrowed his eyes. "From now on, we work for us. No more Punk. No more Heyman. No more anything of his. If we stay with him, sooner or later we'll have to get rid of each other and I'm not siting around to wait for that. We work for us."

As the declaration was ended, Dean's phone rang again. Irately he answered, again putting it on speaker phone. "What?!"

"Hey, this is Ambrose, right?"

Dean checked the unrecognizable number calling as the familiar voice that he couldn't recall chimed in. "Who wants to know?"

"Punk." All eyes urgently turned to the phone as if staring at the man himself.

"CM Punk. Well it is an honor, champ. What made you call on the Shield at this hour?" Dean's voice is sarcastic but when he wasn't yelling it usually was.

"Forget all that, okay? I don't need the pleasantries. I don't need you mocking me. I just wanted to tell you three don't interfere in my matches ever again. I don't care what Paul's paying you, I don't need you. And I'm going to say the same thing at the press conference tomorrow. I'm going to say it directly to you in front of millions of fans, in front of everyone who's been on my case about this stupid Shield situation, and in front of Paul. I'm not champion because of you, I'm champion because I'm the best in the world. See you tomorrow." Abruptly the disgruntled Punk hung up, leaving a stinging disrespectful slap on each of the members' faces. Now they had more than enough reasons to leave the services of Paul Heyman.

Roman scanned from Seth's growingly annoyed features to Dean's bitterly furious ones, already seeing the hamster wheel in Ambrose's head spiraling out of control.

"Roman," Dean sucked his teeth, "You remember our conversation the other night, don't ya?"

It didn't take Reigns too long to remember the moment. "Yeah."

"Well there's no doubt in my mind. I know exactly what I'm going to do now."


	10. Chapter 10

The three had never heard disappointment like this from Paul and they'd never seen him so distressed. As they all gathered back at the Shield's place, he lied with his face in his lap, cradling the back of his head while moping. Things had really hit rock bottom quickly.

Just recently CM Punk had lost his title, ending his four hundred and thirty four day reign. Such an impressive streak broken took its toll on Heyman but to add insult to injury, an exclusive video leaked proving, without a doubt, his gamblings with the Shield, making the lot of them targets. All of the events happening in only two weeks time was far too much to help the man keep his sanity. The arguing around him probably only worsened the ordeal.

"I told you I didn't want you interfering in my match, didn't I? I made myself pretty clear!" Punk's frowned up expression spoke just as angrily as he did while he reprimanded the renegades. "And because of you three I don't have my title!"

Dean was first to defend his boys. "See that's where you're wrong. We're the only reason you got that first knockout against the Rock! If we hadn't caused that black out-"

"If you hadn't caused that black out they wouldn't have had to restart the match after I won."

"And you couldn't get the job done after they restarted the match. You couldn't get it done without us attacking Rocky." Ambrose corrected smartly. "You ought to be grateful we helped you hold on to that title for an extra five..ten minutes." Holding in his anger, Punk closed his thin lips as he clenched his jaw tightly but it only caused Dean to want to get more in his face. "It's because of the Shield that you held on to that title longer than you were intended to, Punk."

Punk blinked slowly before cutting his eyes at all three, a less than friendly smile gracing his face. He lightly chuckled and crossed his arms. "Well it's because of me being champion that you three nobodies got plucked out of who knows where. Sure Paul pays you but realistically I'm the only reason either of you came out of that dump. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have had a chance." Punk only smirked deviously knowing he'd hit something in the group when they all had no retort. The smirk gets replaced for a serious sneer too quickly. "When I said I didn't need you, I meant it. You, just like everyone else, need me. I'm done with this." Scoffing, the ex-champion snatched up a bag of his and briskly walked out, purposely clashing shoulders with Ambrose.

It wasn't long before Dean started shaking violently with rage. He was close to snapping right there so he did the more rational thing, cursing loudly as he rushed out in the hall to go smoke. Roman was given the signal from Seth and he went to follow while Rollins himself would stay to break depressed Heyman the news of the Shields resignation.

"Dean. Yo, Dean wait," Roman called to the man's back closing in on him fast. "Dean, I said wait up!" It wasn't hard for Reigns to catch up to the angry man. He clasped his big hand over the pale shoulder, spinning Ambrose around to calm him down. What he got instead was Dean shoving him and exploding in a louder slew of curse words as he rampaged on how he told everybody so, how Punk was so ungrateful, how he knew this was going to happen, how it always happened to him, and to top it all off, how he was out of cigarettes.

Roman just stood there to take it all in until Ambrose collapsed against the wall, breathing roughly as he tried to regain his composure. He crouched down calmly until he was face to face with the auburn-haired man."You done now?"

Dean pouted and let out a defeated sigh. "You got a smoke?"

"Sorry, I'm kicking the habit." The random intrusion caused Ambrose and Reigns to whip their necks around sharply in surprise. They didn't get much time to come to terms with their guest as a barrage of fists reigned down on them. On instinct alone both men curled up into balls with their hands barricading their skulls.

By his voice, it was easy to assume Cena was the assailant but by the heavy fists, it was easy to clarify Cena was the assailant. This attack didn't go so unsuspected seeing as how the group relentlessly beat John only a week prior. They darn near anticipated it.

Dean watched John from under defending arms and he waited for the perfect moment- the perfect moment to thumb Cena in the eye and hold him off long enough for them to get some recoil. Like a charm, his moment arose but as he and Roman began to stand, they were knocked back down by two more sets of fists. Unlucky them, Cena had brought back up in the form of the heavy-handed Ryback and Sheamus. Roman and Dean were in a predicament with being blindsided and it seemed like they couldn't think of a plan fast enough.

Suddenly, Seth is heard coming down the hall, letting off a shrill war-cry as he ran with a steel chair. Very quick, very agile, he doesn't give the attackers time to recognize his presence before he throws the chair at all three. As they rebound, he quickly gathered up Roman and Dean, leading them running through the tall building.

"You can't run! The whole place is surrounded by officers!" The group snarled in frustration as the words bounced off the walls directly to them. Fast paced thinking, that's what they needed right now. The trio ran the halls before reaching the stairwell that people seldom used.

It was more of an emergency exit type deal as it seemed they didn't manage to keep it as impressively pleasing to the eye as the elevation system. There was evidence of fixing up such as cleaning supplies strewn on the top level but very little evidence it had been applied anywhere. Sounds from the building as well as the aroma of damp dank air occupied the wooden orifice. It was far from nostalgic but it made the group feel a bit more safe, calm. It was the type of environment that allowed them to really think.

After barricading the door, Dean frantically looked around, Seth and Roman following suit, all I them having the same idea. Seth saw what they searched for first. "Get that floor cleaning stuff over there, Rome." Rollins pointed the man away and turned to Ambrose. "And Dean, give me your lighter."

Each was quick in their retrieval and preparation. Seth had made work of dousing the floor with hardwood cleaner. "We don't have too much time to stay in here once I light this," Seth reminded before he looked down to the stained stairway.

Flicking up the lighter, he eyed the flame as it danced in between his fingers. He didn't want to admit his hesitance with Paul still being on the upper floor but Dean could see it. Roman could see it. He was so obvious to those two but on the flip side their thoughts were his own. They needed to do this for them. Punk's words only proved everything Dean said to be true and he didn't want that short end of the straw again. Seth slipped his hand in his pocket to pull out the ever present business card of Paul Heyman and placed the lighter under it to let it catch fire. Without a final thought, the card was tossed amongst the floor that drastically transformed into a raging sea of flames, a true blaze of glory.

The three stood mesmerized slightly until the fire alarm and sprinklers began to go off and even then they watched. The measly little sprinkler wouldn't stop such a fearsome flame. It just grew higher and higher beginning to overtake the air and spread wildly. Dean was the first to move as a stampede of feet rung in his ear and the elevator began shifting relentlessly. "Alright let's go," he called while nudging the men to make their way down the stairs.

The group traveled quickly, getting the energy to move faster by hearing the panic developing on each floor as the people all smelt the growing fire. The rush they had to get out only set the pace for the Shield's escape.

Finally reaching the ground floor, the trio peaked from the stairwell exit to scope out the scene. People were still running like crazy to get out of the possible furnace and, exactly as planned, the police had no way of containing the masses. A hand was held up to hold back the men until Dean saw his moment. "C'mon," he whispered sharply to the other two as they blended in with the crowd, hastily rushing through the door to make their way out without suspicion or detection. While the officers surrounding the building tried to contain the panicking residents, the trio elusively slipped through the buildings back alley and far away from the scene.

Running seemed to be a strong suit of the ensemble, a mark of their performance if you will. It was bothersome but well accepted in saving their own hide and livelihood. As they bolted from out of the alleyways they made it to the city line. Legitimate open road lied ahead of them as they started to run towards the city's welcome sign. They knew the path lead back to the mean streets they originated from but at least there they could make a clean getaway.

"Hey, Shield!" Or not so clean. The men jolted around to the all too familiar voice of Officer Orton. Only feet away from the trio, he stared them down but made no moves to get closer. His hand settled on the gun holster at his hip but the handgun stayed in place.

Soft wind blew through down the street they stood on, the breeze being the only sound accompanying the faint swarm of sirens they'd left behind. Dean shoved his hands in his pocket challengingly. "So what? You think you can take us all in by yourself or did you already call back up?"

Randy sighed lightly and waved away the accusation. "Not this time. I'm not arresting you this time. How would it look if I brought in a bunch of thugs while somebody got burned up in that building back there? My commissioner would be pounding on my door for answers, begging for my badge."

Roman disbelievingly eyed the cop. "You're just letting us go?"

"Yeah right. Let me guess, someone's waiting downtown for us, right? You got it all planned out for when we get out of this city, right?" Seth argued suspiciously.

Again the officer sighed, "Believe me, there's no other police waiting for you in the downtown area. I wont even tell anybody I saw where you three ran away to." He spoke as he stalked towards the men with the intention of leaving very little more than a foot between them. He had to show how serious he was in this instance. Looking down at the slightly shorter guys, the officer lowered his tone, made it softer but colder. "I want to be the one that brings you three to justice."

The group's faces upturned in angered confusion while trying to ignore the cop's morbid fascination in them. Orton slowly turned to stalk off when Roman called to him. "Hey, why us? What did we do to you to make you so bent on taking us out, huh?"

Randy just returned the answer from over his shoulder. "Cena. The guys a good friend of mine. Idiot doesn't have have it in him to be ruthless and protect himself so I make it my business to." Orton threw the boys one last glance and scoffed, "Sometimes you just have to be careful about who you mess with. Now go. But when you decide to come back, it's over." And just like that, the groups went their separate ways, Orton onto the scene of the crime and the crew back to where they came from. They had much longer a walk and knew they wouldn't be back at the apartment complex until the dead of night but hopefully Dusty would open the doors for them.

It had been midday when Dean, Seth, and Roman left the burning building behind for downtown and it was, as expected, midnight when they stood outside of their old home. It would've been morning had the trio not bummed a ride from some trucker who recognized Seth from a previous tattoo job. At least they had a few connections.

Judging from the dim lights in Dusty's window, he was sleep so now they didn't have to beg him for a room. They'd just find someone willing to shelter them for the night. They needed rest more than anything. Sluggishly inching through the front door and up the stairs, the men stopped to glance at what once was their apartment. It wasn't their place to enter, not knowing if it was occupied but there was a feeling of just wanting to collapse in that room. Dean sighed before nudging the men up the next flight of stairs. "C'mon, let's keep moving."

Before they could get up the first stair, there was the sound of a lock turning and the scene of the door they had just passed opening up. A stoic gaze fell on them as Briley ushered the men in.

As they swiftly entered the nearly empty apartment- save for a few pieces of furniture, the men turned to Briley who was rearranging some travel bags by the entrance. Pierce leaned against the door still somewhat deadpan. "So you three are back?"

"Yeah," Seth answered kind of jokingly, "What are you still doing here? I thought you and Brad would've been moved to the inner-city."

Briley shrugged disinterestedly. "Brad asked me to hold on until he got established. Made a steady income. Then we could get a beach house somewhere nice. It's easier to write in a calm place like that. Now that he's the assistant general manager in the boxing league, we're finally moving. I wanted to try and get onto the boxing scene so I could be with him but he said it was too dangerous. Said it changed people." On cue, Pierce cut his eyes at the men. His eyes told that he knew something wrong, holding a betrayed but controlled fury. "Said it changed people for the worst."

The men could already see where this was going and they could do nothing but sigh disappointedly. Briley stepped from the door and passed the men towards the bedroom in the back. "Brad asked me not to call the police when you came. Told me to let you stay here because he didn't blame you for all this. He blamed Paul." Pierce grabbed the last of his bags and took them to the now open door. "Honestly I don't care who's to blame. I don't want anything do to with this or you."

"But Bri," Seth tried to console but Briley waved him off and sat his totes outside, slamming the door behind him.

"Just drop it," Dean and Roman plopped down on the lonesome couch by the door exhaustedly and motioned for Seth to come over. "He's not going to forgive us. We beat up his...whatever he was to him. We've grieved enough over the whole thing and its behind us now. No use in staying fixed on the past." Dean kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket to the side, exposing his crisp white undershirt. Roman followed suit and threw an arm over the back of the couch. It would be his fixed position for the night, he was sure. "Besides, I don't need friends. I never had any so losing one or two wont kill me." Semi-agreeing with Dean, Seth finally gave in to reclining as he threw himself down on the couch on the other side of Ambrose. His boots were kicked off and his jacket thrown on the floor. Dean leaned over, laying on Roman's shoulder while Seth lied in his lap.

Seth allowed Ambrose to push stray hair out his face while he spoke. "So where do we go tomorrow?

Roman tilted his head to Ambrose as well. "You've had the ample time you needed to think about it, right? What's your plan?"

Dean buried his face in Reigns' neck tiredly, then looking down to Seth before closing his eyes. "We go back to the city."

"But the police will be-"

Dean waved the man off. "I'm not worried about them. We have to go back there anyway. All our money is in the safe back in our room so we have to go back." Roman and Seth growled at the realization. "Right so we have to go back and get it."

"And after that?" Rollins inquired.

Ambrose removed his hand from Seth's hair and rubbed his own chin. "We can leave and go to some island like Briley will or," he folded his arms, "we could stay and take over the place."

Two sets of eyes bolted to the man from their spot but Dean remained deathly serious. "I've been thinking about it long and hard, boys. We'd still have our contract with the company. We'll make solid money as boxers- probably could be champions, we'll travel all over the world, and we can be guaranteed a good life. We can run the company and the city like its our playground. Our justice will prevail. Our justice will be believed in, so why not go for it? Maybe it's time we really acted like the 'shield'."

Roman and Seth gave each other a long glance before smirking at Dean. Roman pulled the man close and brushed his cheek. "You always want more don't you?"

"Maybe it's a good thing you don't settle for just anything." Seth chuckled lightly and made himself even more comfortable in Dean's lap. "Sure makes life more interesting."

Ambrose rolled his eyes at the two but couldn't conceal his smile none the less. He smacked both of them on the head and demanded they rest. "Alright, just shut up and go to sleep. Soon, we go back in the city and take what's ours."


	11. Chapter 11

One hundred thousand dollars.

Where were they to start?

Getting back into the building was much easier than expected seeing that cops stayed away from the alleyway. Prissy inner city cops weren't as gritty as their very own downtown cops. There was a backdoor to the basement level of the building, the level that Paul had exclusively given them a key to. Without the slightest detection they had slipped to the ground level floors and ran through the stairwell. As expected, the firefighters had made work of limiting the flames to the stairway and even the stairs weren't that bad. All in all it was a perfectly effective but harmless escape that day. From there it was easy to quickly get to their room on the top floor, each taking a second on the way up to remember the previous event that lead to the scorched wood that were the stairs. Soon enough they were in their condo, moving to get their savings.

As they stood there with the money, the question of what to do first circulated in the air. The men sat on the end of their shared bed and thought long. Dean gazed at his hands for a bit before nodding to himself mostly. "Let's buy some equipment: microphones, cameras, the works."

"What for?" Seth wasn't against the idea but he and Roman didn't know what Dean's plan consisted of completely.

Ambrose rubbed his stubble lightly. "To send a message. Those cops want us gone, boys, but we need to let them know we're not going anywhere. We need to let them know this is our turf now."

Roman stood and propped himself against the far wall. "Okay so that's why we're sending the message but where do we do it? Wouldn't it be easier to make our statement through the boxing league?"

Dean pointed a finger smartly to his friend. "Exactly. We make the statement through the boxing league- boost our character, get people on our side- but we also send a copy directly to the police. The company will think its just a promo for the Shield and the police will see it for what it really is. " Ambrose turned the pointed finger down to the floor. "And I say we shoot it in the basement of this building. It's been deserted, very few people go down there, and it looks like any old basement so it's untraceable. We don't really have a chance of getting caught."

"If they did catch us- which they won't- what do you think they'd slap us with? Assault?" Seth asked slightly amused at the idea.

"Assault?" Ambrose guffawed, "Didn't you see that police tape coming up those stairs? We're first class arsons now! Sure they'll call it some kind of second class offense but when you factor in how many people were still in the building and how many could've gotten hurt, it's a lot worse. If they take us in, we get five for that, and all the assault charges will be them piling on years. And since we didn't kill anybody, we have a lot of people to testify against us."

"Which gives us all the more reason to be careful how we tiptoe around this." Roman made the comment to no one in particular but still out loud to confirm what the other two were well aware of.

"So before we do anything else" Dean stood to put his hands on his hips, "we have to be more sure than we've ever been. Is this the path we all want to take? There's really no going back after this. There's no friends, no trusting anyone, and I'm positive no sleep."

Roman and Seth sighed thoughtfully at the big decision. "I'm in." Reigns licked his plump as always lips. It wasn't as hard a choice when he factored in who he was working with. he trusted his boys whole heartedly. Eyes were on the youngest now. Seth had his arms crossed as he pondered, his eyes seemingly fixed on the floor. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Roman came off the wall and over to his team mate. "Look, Seth, if you don't want to do it-"

"I just wonder if this will come back to haunt us but..." Rollins sighed lightly. "Any vice you choose will come back and haunt you, right? With smoking, you die early; with drinking, you mess up your body; with women, you get a broken heart...what will this get us?"

Dean shuffled closer and nudged Rollins in the shoulder affectionately. "Are you that willing to find out?"

Dean's question floated thickly around Seth's head. "Hmph," he snickered, "you always find a way to keep it interesting, don't you?" It took a minute for him to completely indulge the interrogative but soon enough he smirked up at his buddies. "I guess I am."

The smirk was returned immediately and Ambrose began walking towards the door. "Good to hear. Now let's go. We have to buy some equipment before night. I want to finish this and send it off by the morning. The sooner the better."

:::

"What do we have here?" Gloved hands curiously glided over the thin disc that had arrived only recently in the mail. Addressed directly to him, Officer Orton took minimal time examining the letter in favor of examining the contents on the inside. His partner, Sheamus had been just as watchful over the newly arrived mail.

"Whose it from?"

Randy gritted his teeth lightly before clenching his jaw. Bitterly, he held up a folded piece of paper. "Shield."

Sheamus whistled in mock impression. "Well what're you waiting for? Pop the ole disc in and let's see what the fellas had to say."

Without another word, Randy slid the CD in his laptop and waited for it to play.

The scene opened up from the camcorder view, the lens being focused on the floor. Black boots came into view next and the camera was picked up and placed on three familiar young faces.

"Reigns."

"Rollins."

"Ambrose." The three young men introduced. "And these," the camera panned out to get all three in the picture, "these are the faces of justice."

"Oh geez," Randy wiped his face in distress.

"This is interesting." Sheamus moved his swivel chair closer to view the screen. "I wonder where they're shooting this from."

"Looks like any old basement. They made sure not to leave an identifier in the background," Randy growled.

Ambrose ranted on calmly. "So it's been brought to our attention that we're being called rebels." A slight pause. "Thugs. Punks. Renegades." He shook his head exaggeratedly as he began again. "Well we aren't any of those things. We don't vandalize places, we don't steal expensive things. What we do is we hunt injustice."

"We don't just hunt injustice," Roman pulled the camera in his direction, "we rectify it."

"Yeah you see," Seth pulled the camera over to himself next, "that's why we are the Shield. All the wrong doing, all the unfair circumstances in this city, all the higher ups abusing their power... No more. It's our job to step in where the law enforcement fails to acknowledge. Where talk show hosts like Miz don't want to accept their consequences. Where stars like Ryback think they can bully their way into power. We're here to erase every disaster."

"That's right," Ambrose pulled the camera back to himself. "That's right. And I don't expect any of the city's officers to want to believe this- I'd much rather we fight to get what we want than for you to lay down anyway- but the Shield's not going anywhere."

Roman swung the camera to his face next, his banter humorless as he laughed. "Now, I'm sure you boys are fuming over this so we have a little proposition for you."

Dean panned out the camera to include all three men in the frame, each looking into the lens with intensity. "You rally up your best three guys and we'll have it out in a street fight. There's this little underground place I know downtown where I can't think of anyone who wouldn't mind seeing a couple of pigs getting beat. In a month from today, we'll be there. So we are giving you a whole month to prepare yourselves, train, make a game plan, whatever because we'll be as ready as ever and if you win, we go with you. If we win, the city gets more of what it needs. This city gets more of the Shield that it needs."

"We're out here in the open waiting for you boys, all you have to do is be man enough to go up against the hounds of justice." Seth chuckled out darkly, condescendingly. "But are you willing to take the chance?"

"I guarantee, anyone you put in front of us will be knocked down!" Ambrose yelled. "And in the end, everyone will believe!"

"Everyone," Seth started loudly but quieted down as he zoomed in on his face. "...everyone will believe in the shield."

Roman snatched the camera to his alert eyes. "Believe in the shield!" He shouted loudly, not even getting to finish before Randy shut the laptop down hard in aggravation.

He had heard enough of the foolishness and above all else it infuriated him. So fired up the tips of his ears were red, Orton snatched out the CD and broke it in his hands. Sheamus just watched patiently, more amused than anything. "Those mates have delusions of grandeur, don't they?" The red head smiled lightly and leaned back in his chair. "Sure like to spew junk about justice too."

Randy slit his eyes at the Irishman, the anger on his face not directed towards Sheamus but seemingly so since he couldn't hide it well. "Those punks have messed with the wrong guys this time." Orton paced his workspace frantically, only stopped by his partners outburst of laughter. "How is this funny?!"

Sheamus smiled toothily to the man and stood to his feet, placing a strong hand on Orton's shoulder. "It's not funny but seeing those lads get you all riled up lets me know there's a good brawl coming." He patted Randy's shoulder hard and smiled brighter, "And Orton, you know I love a good fight."

Randy looked at the man for a few fleeting moments until his own sinister smirk took over. Well, he'd finally get his hands on those brats and it was going to be a downtown fight. With the rookie officers there, they could easily get away without any flack from the brass. The Shield made it too easy. Too perfect. Orton playfully punched Sheamus in the arm. "Fine. And lets just say all of this is 'off the records'." The men shared in the agreement and slowly went back to their regular work. Immediately after work they'd be off to find the third man for their date with the Shield.


	12. Chapter 12

One whole month of hitting the gym, plotting and planning the event, arranging the group's foreseeable future; all of it would be coming into fruition tonight.

Hundreds of people were circled up around the parking lot of a downtown club, awaiting the arrival of the other three-man group that had the guts to take on the Shield. None of the participants in the fight were worried, however; Dean, Seth, and Roman had no doubt that the officers would show. They had been relentless in taunting the men in weeks pass. Any human being with pride would've taken the bait and been provoked. Orton had more pride than anyone.

The young men had dressed in their trademark garb, adding on Dean's bandage wrapped hands, Roman's wrapped wrists, and Seth's gloved hands. Presentation was a part of the show. Menacingly the group waited in the center of the crowd, talking lowly amongst each other but more than anything, preparing themselves mentally for what was to come.

Dean stretched his hands before nudging his partners towards the big black hummer that was arriving on the scene. The men didn't need to peer through the tinted windows to know their fight was about to begin. The hummer parked slowly, the scene seeming to move in slow motion as the truck shut off. As expected, Officer Orton was the first to rise out of the truck. Having no shirt on to show of well toned muscle, and wearing a pair of grungy dark blue jeans, he looked even more threatening than usual. Each paid special attention to the many tattoos up and down Orton's arms. Fine work like that was only found in the downtown part of the city- only further proving their insinuation to be true: Orton was no stranger to the area.

Then Sheamus motioned out. He was also shirtless, showing off a pale but well sculpted body; his own dark jeans were more fitted to show off even more. Unlike the ever raging Randy, Sheamus held excitement in his eyes, smirking in welcome to the open invitation to brawl. A big fist came down to beat on his chest but it was ignored for the more shocking arrival.

From the backseat of Orton's hummer thundered out the "world's largest athlete" , Big Show. The boxing gimmick wasn't just on paper, the giant was truly huge with his height, weight, and presence. All eyes turned to the behemoth and all Randy could do was smirk impishly, sharp fang like canine teeth coming momentarily into view.

Orton looked back at his three men and motioned them over to approach their opponents. Ambrose was no slouch as he ushered his men forward as well. The six stood toe-to-toe, eyeing each other down while the crowd held their breath in silent anticipation. Randy's smirk turned to a sneer as he eyed Ambrose and spoke in a hushed tone. "It's not to late to turn yourselves in."

"Turn ourselves in? Oh you think we're intimidated because you've got a giant on your side?"

"You should be. He's been knocking out guys since before you were born."

"You kidding me? Pfft. We aren't scared of a slow uncoordinated ogre. The bigger they are the harder they fall, right?"

"We'll see," Orton mumbled, slightly entertained by the banter but more focused in knocking the smirk off Ambrose's face. He inhaled deeply and let loose a ravenous war cry as his fist came down on Dean's dome. The fight was officially on.

The crowd went crazy, rambunctious and adrenaline-filled cheering overtook the lot. The atmosphere was picking up by reached its height when the first man was down. Luckily for the Shield, it was Sheamus. Seth had done his best to stun the man long enough to help Roman with the largest challenge: Big Show.

Reigns was defending the man off with his own litany of attacks, seeing as Show was comparably slower. The guy was powerful but he took his time fighting. Roman targeted the legs of the large man as well as the head. He'd be sure to throw him off balance one way or the other. Punch after punch dazed the athlete monetarily but never enough to keep him down. Words couldn't express Roman's relief when Rollins shoulder tackled the behind the giant's knee, finally getting him to the ground. A solid running knee from Roman was all it took then to briefly lag the giant out. Next the two settled to aid Ambrose.

At the present moment, Randy had Dean pressed against the hood of his Hummer, repeatedly slamming his head into the metal. Ambrose didn't allow for the action to go on too long as he switched their position and pressed Orton out against the car. He threw quick hard body shots to the man before running and driving his knee to Randy's gut- making the man hunch over in pain. Noticing his teammates, Dean waved them over to help.

Roman tapped Seth lightly and they sprinted to Deans's side only for Roman to get clotheslined by Big Show and Seth have a forearm driven in the back of his head from Sheamus.

The resilient men were a lot tougher than expected.

The brawl continued on, turning from entertainingly dangerous to cruelly relentless in no time at all; the crowd hadn't strayed away either, their excitement only heightening. Things had escalated quickly and the odds seemed stacked against the Shield. Seth and Roman were nursing injury while Dean was barely on a limb himself. On the other hand, Sheamus was the only man down from Orton's side. The whole ordeal seemed pretty bleak.

Show grabbed Dean by the throat and slammed him to the gravel, purposefully slamming his head into the ground. He stood slowly, and Dean could almost see the desire to end it in the big man's eyes. Big Show's fist raised high but stopped on its way down, noticing Orton, dragging Ambrose towards him. Randy jumped on the younger man and pounded time and time again on him, but the kicker came when Seth attempted to defend his colleague once more. Randy quickly got to his feet and gave him a neckbreaker just to keep him out the way for good. Trying to pick himself off the ground, Ambrose was still close to being knocked out. Without even realizing it, Randy's boot was measured against his head. A silent swear fell from his parted lips. He closed his eyes in preparation for the inevitable.

The inevitable never did come however as the next blow was landed on Randy, knocking him out completely. Dean couldn't even believe the occurrence had truly happened until Show repeated the offense to his other teammate, Sheamus. Disgustedly he looked towards the fallen officers, before he walked away from the whole scene entirely.

Ambrose looked on with wide disbelieving eyes, before he wobbled to his feet and over to get his friends to their feet. Seth rubbed his neck sorely while Roman cradled his arm. All three stared at the carnage left behind and let the whole ordeal set in.

Orton and Sheamus were knocked out.

Which made them the winners.

Huge grins quickly planted themselves on their faces as the crowd went wild. It was a shocking ending but one that was well accepted by the audience. Seth draped an arm over Dean's neck tightly as he jumped for joy, rambling on about how victory was only a matter of time. Roman wrapped an arm around Ambrose's waist as he declared their dominance and all Dean himself could do was smirk largely, pearly whites open for all to see.

Victoriously they raised their fists and strutted through the crowd to their car, receiving more congratulatory words being thrown their way. Cooly, the group waved the crowd away as they cruised out the parking lot and sped on the two hour drive to get back to their condo.

"Did that really just happen?" Rollins laughed as he held his possibly fractured ribs. "We really just won?"

"Not like we didn't see it coming," Dean smirked through the windshield as he watched the road. "We told them what we were coming to do and what happened? We did it."

Roman chuckled deeply. "Yeah but who would've expected Show to turn on them like that? So much dissension amongst a team." He faked concern before continuing to chuckle. "Call it luck."

"Luck, karma, justice," Ambrose teased, "call it what you want but we were in a fight tonight, boys and we came out on top."

Roman and Seth smiled bigger than they ever had. Not being able to control his excitement, Rollins rolled down his window and let off a loud "Woooo!" into the night. Roman joined in only seconds later and turned the woo into more of a howling noise. They were after all "hounds" of justice. Dean's smile stayed plastered on his face but he calmed the men down as they began to approach the inner city. They didn't need anybody alert to their presence, especially not while they snuck in the building.

Reaching the destination sooner than later, the men hurried to their condo. It was already past twelve and each needed their rest respectively. When they reached the room, the men finally got the chance to trudge around and allow their bodies to act like they felt.

"Home, finally." Dean sighed in exhausted relief.

All three stood and basked in the comfort until Roman tapped them lightly. "Alright, let me bandage you two up to."

Seth followed Reigns to their bedroom while Ambrose made a line for the kitchen. "Let me find us something to eat first. I'm starving."

"Sure," Rome called back. "Just reheat that leftover pizza. It's too late to try and cook anything."

Dean silently nagged his friends choice of dinner but threw the six slices in the microwave anyway, setting the timer. For how well off they were now, they still had the eating habits of downtown guys. Then Ambrose made his way to their bedroom, getting comfortable and taking off his shirt as he went.

Already seeing Seth with his shirt off and under the care of Roman, Dean plopped down in the bed beside him. His eyes wandered as they always did and they slightly bulged at the bruise painting Rollins' rib cage. Any other time he'd be in admiration for such a trophy- because any other time it was usually on him- but seeing it on Seth made him a bit worried.

"Cool, isn't it?" Rollins laughed at Deans's reaction and shoved him. "Oh c'mon, you're overreacting. I mean it hurts but it's like a war scar. If it was Roman, you'd be congratulating him."

"That's because he's got thick skin. Nothing hurts him," Ambrose laughed lightly, slapping Roman in the back of the head.

Reigns didn't react right away, just seeming to let it roll off his shoulder. He kept his eyes focused on his hands preparing Seth's bandages. "Okay, Dean," he calmly bantered. "I think...I'm going to tie your bandages...extremely tight." He emphasized his point by knotting the wrap.

Dean smirked impishly and slapped Roman again, harder in fact. "Doesn't matter. You know that's how I like it." He playfully but his lips before turning back to Seth. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"Thanks but no thanks, Dad," Rollins sneered while rolling his eyes. "You should focus on yourself sometimes too Dean. Like this," He rubbed a gloved hand across Ambrose's lightly-haired chest, pointing out how red and swollen it had become from heavy handed Sheamus during their brawl. "This doesn't look good."

"But I'm used to it. This is the kind of thing I do." Tattered bandaged hands rose to brush across the dark brown stubble on the youngest's face, it was a more tender touch than usual. "You deserve better is all so I'm supposed to give you better." Dean's hand moved gracefully to brush Roman's cheek next. "Not get you bruised up." A loud ding went off and the auburn haired man forced himself to his feet. The pizza was calling from the microwave it seemed. "I'll be right back."

After Dean had left out he room, Seth and Roman couldn't help but smile to one another. "He's cute," Rome muttered.

"Too cute," Rollins laughed back as he gazed happily at the doorway.

Reigns continued to check Seth for anymore external wounds while he spoke. "But he's right. We don't want you getting yourself hurt."

Seth's eyes gave an amusingly disbelieving glare. "Do you two forget I'm a guy too? I can take a few beatings. I'm not fragile."

"But you're a little too excited in a fight sometimes, and you know it. I know you're agile but you're too risky." Not seeing any more misgivings, Roman stood to his feet. Seth took the true words in a bit ashamedly, keeping a pout on his face. This caused Roman to lean down and whisper to the seated man. "It's alright. Between you and me, I'm just as worried about Dean. He gets pretty eager too and heaven knows he's always ready for a fight. We're just playing catch up."

The two shared a laugh at Dean's expense, the man walking in the room with pizza in his hand and a confused look in his face. "Did I miss the joke?" Ambrose stuffed a slice in his mouth before sliding over and setting the plate on the bed. "C'mon lets eat before this gets cold again."

"Right," Seth and Roman agreed in unison.

The meal was shared peacefully for the first time in a long time. They went to bed soon after and sleep came for the last time in a while. They'd be on the move from the next day on. The battle was over but the war had just begun. The next day would be packed with preparation for their rise for dominance.

* * *

Surprisingly, I'm close to the last chapters because well, we're getting to current day Shield stuff. I'd guess there'd be three or four more chapters and then this will be all done. So thank you to everyone who stuck along for the ride! :D


	13. Chapter 13

Week after week the group attempted to balance making threateningly informing videos, fulfilling their obligations as entertainers in the boxing league, and most importantly staying above the law. Since leaving the employ of Heyman, even they had to admit to their increasing violent streak. It wasn't them senselessly rough housing but now that they were actually trying to climb the league's food chain, it seemed like more people were in their way. More people meant more work and as expected, less sleep.

This unintentionally drew near the supposed event of their demise.

Not even a month after their run in with officer Orton, and the man was trying to get in contact with them- about their ruthless attacks no doubt. As an officer, he made it clear that while he let it slide before, too many casualties occurred in their wake for him to ignore. His sense of justice was strong in that way. He had told the men that things wouldn't happen on the Shields terms this time but on his own terms- his and the new ensemble he had recently coordinated of two highly able men; They were sure Kane and Daniel had joined forces with Randy at the drop of a dime.

Moreover he made it clear that he was not willing to make this a fight. He'd get the men by surprise if possible and haul them to jail right then and there. Another extremely emphasized point was that nothing was off boundaries- he'd invade where they worked, where they slept, and where they lived- at any time without a second thought.

Of course, he stayed true to his word.

At the present moment, it was midnight and the Shield members were hiding out in their supposedly still empty condo. Every light was turned out in home including the pool lights illuminating from the patio. For three days they had been posted up in the home because he was looking for them- seriously searching and the group knew well enough to go undetected. They'd simply wait the man hunt out where they felt safest: in darkness.

Navigating around a place they knew well in pitch black wasn't an issue. The only concern they had was when they left the room- especially because it was Seth who left most often. He insisted that he be the one to go get food for the group. Trying to be understanding and less protective, the men agreed. Seth was particularly stealthy though, so his persuasion was fairly easy.

Thirty minutes had passed and, much to Dean and Roman's chagrin, there had not been any word from Rollins. The carryout he was supposed to have ordered from was only ten minutes away so their foreseeable concern was natural with the addition of twenty minutes. Ambrose called repetitively but all that got him was a long wait for nothing. That really escalated his worry then.

After another five minutes of thinking the worst, Roman finally gave in to going out to looking for Rollins but they never got to leave the room. Instead, Seth came crashing through the door, limping into the dark doorway and collapsing on the carpet. Immediately, the men were on their feet and rushing to his side.

"What the heck happened?" Dean asked through gritted teeth, his emotional response to his fallen comrade automatically being rage.

Seth coughed a little as he tried to catch his breath and leaned up against the door to look at the men. He held a pained but annoyed expression as he held one of his legs. "Freaking Orton was waiting at the restaurant as soon as I got there. Chased me around the city in his cop car for at least twenty minutes. I ran down some alleys, tried to give him the slip but that didn't work. The Idiot slugged me with his pistol before I could get in the building."

"But we wear bulletproof vests," Roman softly announced.

"Not around our legs." Rollins emphasized his point by removing the hands holding his leg and showing a bullet wound and his black clothing was stained darker by still escaping blood. "He didn't hit anywhere vital but it's like he hit the second worse spot. It hurts like you won't believe."

Ambrose cursed under his breath as he inspected the wound. "Sesus," he assessed after a minute. "Rome, get that out of there." He pointed Reigns to the injury and then away to their room. "Bandage him up before he passes out from losing blood."

"Right," Roman easily but delicately hauled Seth to his feet and lead him to their bedroom.

Dean went to lock the door, also throwing whatever else furniture he could in its path. No one would get through that. When he was sure in the security, he moved quickly to help Roman with Seth. "Doors barricaded," he mentioned as he marched in.

Already having cleaned the wound, Seth inhaled sharply as Roman began opening it a bit more to give him room in removing the bullet. Trying to keep his mind off the pain, he turned to Ambrose. "You didn't have to do that. I made sure to jam the elevators and barricade all the stairwells on the way up here. There's no way for them to get to us."

Reigns and Ambrose commended them man for his smart thinking. Roman then went back to his procedure. Delicately he took a pair of tweezers from their first aid kit and wiped them down with ointment and antiseptic. Delicate preparation. Carefully, he dug in the wound causing Rollins to inhale once more through gritted teeth as he clenched his jaw and gripped the bed sheets. He swore harshly, sounding more like Ambrose when he went off on his tantrums. Roman cooed gently to try and calm the man, still maneuvering around to reach his desired object. Finally he was sure he found it and, with concentration, he slowly removed the bullet with a sigh of relief. Now all Reigns needed to do was wrap the injury. That was the easiest part. He swabbed the wound with more ointment and removed the gauze, lightly but firmly tending the wound. "All done," he grumbled out.

"Thank goodness," Rollins sighed exhaustedly before going unconscious on the bed.

"Wait!" Dean was fast in his reaction, grabbing Seth and shaking him. "Hey, Seth? You all right? Seth!"

Roman grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. "Don't worry. He's just tired. We're all sleep deprived so let him rest."

Dean sighed in distress. "I guess you're right." He bent down to take off Rollins' shoes and help him in the bed. As he knelt on the floor the next sound he heard was air slicing followed by a loud thump. Almost in slow motion, he turned and saw the collapsed Roman against the carpet. Dean's eyes fiercely shifted to the small tranquilizer piercing his neck and before he could truly understand the situation, the roar of a helicopter sounded through the glass encased patio and showed up illuminating the dark area.

Blinded at first by the light, he held up his hand against it, that giving him a moment to scan the cracked hole made by the tranquilizer when it zoomed through the glass. Whoever did that had exceptional aim. The moment for admiration was gone as the obnoxious voice of Daniel Bryan came through a megaphone telling Ambrose they "had him surrounded," and how there was "no escape". He should've known better.

Dean did what he did best at that point: shut the world out and think about his next move. He could easily find escape out a window and through more alleys but with Seth and Roman incapacitated that wasn't an option. Their well being was most important. If he got caught, they'd all be thrown in jail so being the only one conscious...barter? Yeah...he could easily turn himself in, take the fall for this and bargain to keep Seth and Rome out of prison. At least now he'd be back in control and the next move was his.

Confident in his decision, Dean stood to his feet and strolled to the glass doors, opening it and standing in the doorway. The wind swished around by the helicopter threw his hair wildly. Sure of his option, he went to step onto the patio but before he knew it, he felt a cord wrapping around his neck, causing him to frantically jolt in escape.

The cord was so tight, however, that he couldn't move at all without asphyxiating himself further. In his final attempts, he yanked weakly at the cord while a dark voice whispered to him. "Now I can't let you do this, Dean. I can't let you try to take the fall for them. I told you I wanted to bring all three of you to justice." Dean gargled angrily as he threatened Orton with his last few good breaths. His eyes began to roll back in his head and he fought feebly to be released but to his own consternation he was far too limp to fight anymore. Randy coiled the cord tighter and leaned down to whisper to Ambrose one more time. "Just go to sleep. Like I said, it's all over..."

Dean knitted his eyebrows sadly, angry with himself for getting caught but even more disappointed for getting his boys into this. As he passed out under the pressure and ceased to have consciousness, his final thought was if Roman and Seth would be able to forgive him and whether he could make this right.


	14. Chapter 14

On television, it seemed like long interrogations lead to long trials and long trials lead to long sentences behind bars. With that in mind, Dean was doing whatever he could to make sure he stayed short with the officers. He had been in the interrogation room three days now facing the questioning of Sheamus, Kane, and Daniel but he stayed silent. Now he was sleep deprived, hungry, and unclean and he had to face the worst of them all: Orton. So far he'd been under Randy's abusive scrutiny for five hours straight but his resolve never broke; he just kept his gaze low and his mouth zipped. As annoyed as it made Orton, he stayed surprisingly composed while he sat in the chair across from the cuffed Shield member.

"All I need is a confession and this will be all over, Ambrose. Every ounce of evidence we could've had against you three in the fire incident was burned up so we dropped that charge. All you have to admit to are the beatings not being "staged." We slap you for assault and everyone goes home...well except you three of course."

Dean just gave Randy a look of annoyed disbelief before dropping his gaze again.

Randy blinked lightly and sighed, slowly rising to his feet and easing over to Dean. Hushed tones, "It's been, what, three days? I don't think you understand that you got the easier part of all this. You got one of your buddies shot and the other's sitting in a holding cell. If you don't talk, I wonder which one will." The rage boiling in Ambrose's eyes were equally met with fury from Orton when he looked up at him. "I just wonder..." The stare down was suffocating so there was slight relief on Dean's part when someone came to knock on the door much to the annoyance of the officer.

Randy cursed loudly before rushing over to the door and swinging it open, finding a tall well-dressed brunette woman standing there. Randy groaned and tried to politely whine out a "What is it now, Steph? I'm kind of busy here."

More hushed tones were used but Ambrose's ears picked up on everything.

"Orton, we're cutting them loose tomorrow."

"What? Why?"

"Officer, it's been three days and you haven't gotten anywhere with this. Even more over, the Chief is not happy with all the money we used to catch these guys. While the helicopter was a nice touch to keep them surrounded, it blew our budget this month."

"Forgive me, _Lieutenant McMahon_," obviously Randy's anger was escalating, "but these three guys have assaulted more than a dozen people. We can't just let them go."

"I know, Orton but without a confession, the evidence we do have can only keep them in the holding cells overnight and we can only hope the DA comes back with a trial date. Even if we have the trial there's no guarantee the jury will buy it. No one credible enough is willing to testify. Our options are slim here."

Randy shook his head in disappointment, holding a disgusted look on his face. "Who's decision was this?"

"The Chief and the Mayor both agreed." Another curse word passed Orton's lips but the Lieutenant patted his shoulder. "Get what you can out of him but tomorrow we drop this case." She nodded her head to Randy and stepped off past Sheamus, who was standing on the other side of the oneway mirror, towards her office.

Randy waited until he heard her door close completely before he slammed his door. He banged his head against it harshly before calming down enough to see Ambrose still staring rather blankly. He cut his eyes for a moment trying to regain himself but all it took was Dean's subsequent sneer and Randy was enraged again.

He ran over and kicked Dean's chair clean from under him, jumping on him milliseconds later and punching him repeatedly. He slammed the younger man's head into the ground over and over again, nothing but pure anger fueling him. Wrenching the collar of his shirt, he yelled at him. "You're not going to make me look like an idiot! You're going to start talking now or I'll kill you right here!"

Before he could land another punch, his partner Sheamus was forcefully yanking him off the floor and over in a corner. It took everything in his brute strength to keep the animalistic cop away. "Orton, calm down! You're getting carried away!" Ambrose felt up his busted lip, busted nose, and swollen eye but still said nothing.

"No! He's going to talk!" Randy clawed to get away but Sheamus slammed him back into the corner harshly whispering.

"Haven't you already sacrificed enough for this case? Fighting in some parking lot downtown is one thing. That's off the record. Fighting in a police station's interrogation room while its being recorded is another. This guy could get you for police brutality if he wanted to." It took quite a minute for Randy to calm down but he eventually did, holding his head in his hands. "Get it together."

Randy sighed longly and stared at the bruised young man. He quickly looked away as not to further anger himself. "You're right," he scooped up a few files on the table and headed for the door. "Take him to the cell, would you? I'm going to the DA's office to see what they can do for me." And the man angrily stomped away.

"He's always flying off the deep end." Sheamus waited until Orton was a good ways down the hall before sighing and gently helping Ambrose to his feet. He couldn't help but be a good guy at times. "I'll get a rag for the blood and a ice bag for your eye, alright?" Following procedure, he yanked the cuffs on Dean, and escorted him down the hall and to the basement where the holding cells were.

Every cell was empty in the dimly lit and dank basement except for one- the one he'd be going in. Luckily, while it was occupied, it was occupied by someone he wanted to see.

"Roman," Ambrose smiled as best he could without looking deformed with his bruised face.

Reigns head snapped to Ambrose's direction and he himself smiled pretty joyfully but both of theirs dropped slightly, noting one another's condition.

Roman spoke first. "What happened to your face?"

"Orton," Dean calmly explained. "Your eyes are really red."

Roman sadly laughed, "Tranquilizer's after effects. It's kept me awake for these past three days."

The two went back to being quiet and Sheamus cleared his throat. "Well I'll be back with the rag and stuff." He unchained Ambrose and let him in the cell with his friend, locking it and quickly leaving.

Dean sat on the floor across from the bunk beds that Roman sat on. He kept his head down, subconsciously avoiding the Samoan's gaze. Lightly he plucked a rock across the floor. "So, you heard from Seth?"

"Once, like two days ago. He's still got a little pain but other than that he's fine." Roman kept complete focus on Ambrose, wondering why he sat on the floor and why he couldn't look his way.

Dean almost smiled. "He's a soldier. Did he say anything else?"

Roman rested his elbows on his knees. "Said he couldn't wait to see us again. Wanted to know what your plan was this time."

The smile that could've been left again and Dean shrugged. He looked further down on the floor and sighed. "I don't know. I didn't think we'd get caught like this so soon." He shifted positions, lightly slouching up against the wall. "I don't have one."

"Well get to thinking of one," Roman chuckled, "Seth and I-"

Dean just held up his hand to stop the man. "No, there's no you and Seth. I can't keep bringing you two into this."

"What? Why not?"

"Because, unfortunately for me, my plans never work."

"That never stopped us before." The retort was too quick for Dean's liking.

Ambrose inwardly groaned. "And because it'd be easier if I just took the fall for everything. Trial goes by quicker. Processing takes less time-"

Again another quick retort, "We both know Orton wouldn't let that happen. He wants us all in jail. Besides me and Seth wouldn't leave you, Dean. You know that."

Finally Ambrose snarled angrily. "Look, I'm the reason both of you keep getting hurt!"

"And that's what this is about," Roman knowingly raised his eyebrows. "I knew it was something bothering you."

"Of course it's bothering me. Do you think I'm some heartless psycho who likes causing his friends pain? No," Dean always got riled up quickly, Roman noted. "Self-inflicted wounds are alright but I can't keep doing this to you guys, Rome." Ambrose sighed in self-anguish. "I promised you a better life and look where we are."

"But we followed you knowing this could happen. You didn't sugarcoat the possibilities. You told us the risk and we chanced it because we didn't mind. As far as we're both concerned, we're still on the path to a better life. Nothing's changed. We aren't going anywhere." Seeing his team mate so down, Roman could commiserate with Dean. Slowly, he picked himself up and eased over to the floor beside Ambrose; chuckling spryly when Dean briskly wormed some inches away. Reigns only remained that much more persistent in trying to cuddle the auburn-haired man. He finally did get the chance, wrapping a muscular arm around Dean's shoulders, and pulling him to lean against his chest.

Dean couldn't appreciate tender moments often yet the reassurance alone was calming; however, he still hadn't completely relinquished the previous notion. With long fingers threading through his hair, he sighed. "This wasn't supposed to happen, Rome."

"But it did so now what?" Roman smartly questioned the man, "Aren't we what you fight for? We're still around so you still have a reason, right?"

Dean finally looked up into Reigns eyes, slightly wondering if this was a trick question but somehow he knew it wasn't. There was a definite answer somewhere. "Rome, I-"

"As long as we stay here with you, promise you'll keep fighting for us." Roman interjected demandingly, no longer asking but forcing Dean. "Make that promise to us and Seth and I will promise to follow you down till the very end no matter where that is."

Ambrose kept his disbelieving gaze fixed on Roman's painfully serious face before slightly turning red and pushing the man away. "Fine, I promise or whatever- but don't complain to me when we all end up dead in a ditch."

"Somehow, I trust you won't let that happen." Roman smirked lightly before pulling Dean back close beside him. Ambrose squirmed gently but the larger man kept a death lock around his waist nuzzling his neck. "You're so cute sometimes."

"Why do you two keep saying that? I'm a grown man. Men aren't cute." Ambrose sighed sadly.

"With the exception of you," the statement had both men's head turning, taking notice to the man relaxing in a chair across from their cell. Seth's big grin and blonde highlights were too visible even in the darkness of the basement. "Miss me?"

Roman and Dean scrambled quickly to get to their feet and excitedly lean against the bars, amazed at Seth's presence in general. "When did you...?" Roman questioned lightly.

"I waited until I was alone and I signed myself out of the hospital. Told some cops I was ready to confess to everything so they brought me here. Of course I attacked them and stole their uniform so I could sneak in but then I overheard some guys talking about renegades in the holding cells so I took the hint and here I am."

Dean's smile began to dwindle as he asked, "How long have you been there?" Seth answered without an answer, strutting over to the cell, taking his nightstick, and hitting Dean on the head with it. "Oww!"

Immediately following he yanked Dean forward by his shirt, pulling their foreheads together. "Me and Rome, we're not going anywhere. You may want that for us but we want a life with you. Is it even worth it if we can't be together?" He smiled weakly, hoping to convey his sincerity through his eyes. "That promise we made, I'm holding you to it from this day forward. Got me?" All three men simpered in agreement as Dean nodded. Seth released the shirt with a smirk, "And stop being an idiot sometimes, would you?"

"Dully noted," Ambrose rolled his eyes playfully and turned to Roman who gave him a knowing look.

"So," Reigns started.

"So?" Dean asked.

"So," Roman replied sarcastically, "what's the plan?"

Dean's lightbulb went off as he came to understand Roman's question. "Oh that." He rubbed his stubble and back peddled until he seated himself on the bottom bunk. "Hm," Ambrose started, "We'll here's a little something: They plan on dropping our case tomorrow if nothing comes up."

"So you're saying we should wait the night out here?" Roman questioned, leaning agains the bars.

Dean shook his head slightly, "No. What I'm saying is that Orton and his goons are gonna find whatever they can to make this case stick, something solid. Even if its little, they're going to try and keep us in here longer."

"So we have to leave tonight..." Seth bit his lip thoughtfully. "Who's the guard for the nightshift?"

"That's what I need you to find out." A slender finger was pointed in Rollins' direction. "Find a good hiding place down here. I'm sure I don't have to tell you when to come out and get the keys from him. You're a smart boy, you know opportunity." His eyes darted over to his cellmate. "Rome could make a believable officer, right?"

Seth and Roman shrugged in unison. "I guess. Yeah, sure."

"Well find a laundry room and get a uniform in his size. When we escape, I'll have you two walk me out. Since they're supposed to be dropping the case in the morning anyway, we'll say you two officers were escorting me out of police custody and to my house. We'll hijack a cop car, ditch it a few miles from the station, and the rest we'll figure out when we get there."

His teammates beamed with admiration towards their colleagues scheming. Seth smirked mischievously and twirled his nightstick. "Sounds good to me. A little risky but what isn't with you?"

Roman leaned up off the bars with his own smirk. "No complaints here."

"Good," Dean nodded once.

He was about to speak again until he heard heavy foot steps approaching them. Quickly, Seth went back into hiding and the two caged men turned towards the sound. They tensed up in preparation but relaxed slightly seeing the officer from earlier. Sheamus had finally returned with the medical aid.

"Sorry I'm a bit late. Infirmary's on the other side of the building. Strangest thing," The Irishman shook his head in stunned disbelief and passed the tools through the bars to Ambrose.

Dean gratefully accepted and handed the things over to Roman. Reigns was the caretaker for any of their injuries. He thanked Sheamus before innocently asking, "So are you working the nightshift?"

Sheamus thoughtfully shook his head, "No, I think it's going to be a younger guy. He'll be here in a while so no worries."

"Sure. We just wouldn't want anything stopping us from getting out by the morning." The hidden meaning was caught on Reigns part and he smiled briefly.

It was a flash but not missed on Sheamus' part. He too smiled lightly. "Are you fellas thinking about doing something stupid?"

"What?" Dean asked innocently, slightly annoyed.

"Wow." Sheamus just shook his head and laughed, "Can you imagine Orton's face? You three trouble makers are going to get yourselves killed." Stepping off, he started laughing himself into a stupor.

Roman ran to the cell bars and called to him. "Wait, you're not going to rat us out, are you?"

"Since the case is basically dead in the morning, I'm not on it anymore. It's not my authority to 'rat' you out. You're free men at this point." Sheamus continued to chuckle as he left the group, knowing Randy's fury would be something to see.

There was a brief silence before Rollins removed himself from the shadow. "He's weird," he mentioned skeptically. "Think we should trust him?"

"Yeah," Dean lightly stated. "It's not like he wants anything from us..." He looked around a bit. "And you need a better hiding place."

"What? Why?"

"Didn't you notice he said 'three' of us?" Ambrose raised an eyebrow, bringing Seth and Roman's attention to the truth. "Right. So find a better hiding place. We need everything to go perfect tonight."

* * *

Alrighty then! There's only one more chapter left and this'll be my first completed story. Woo Shield! Hope everyone enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Final chapter! I'm glad this is the first chapter fic I've actually finished! Woo I hope whoever read this enjoyed and was not disappointed. Much thank you's to _Babbit93, xx'Gothic-Manga-Girl'xx, PL-LovesDAandSPNForever946, and Sparkles Blue_. Your reviews really made me feel good about writing this story. :) Alright. Here's to the end.

* * *

"I can't believe they gave us this job."

"Well it wasn't gonna be all of us until Jinder opened his big mouth!"

"Hey, if they were going to make me miss karaoke night, so were you two!"

Dean and Roman looked amongst the trio disbelievingly. While they were taken off guard by the addition of two extra night officers, they were confused at the actions of the trio collectively. These were obviously officers fresh out the academy; rookies without any idea of what to do. The bickering amongst themselves only exemplified immaturity as they hadn't technically kept watch on the men since arriving. Then again it could easily work for the Shield.

"Look Heath, if we leave Jinder here right now, who's going to stop us?" The tallest among the group, a young brunette Scotsman flipped his shades open and placed them on his head.

The shortest, a strawberry blonde, nodded in agreement and flipped his shades on as well. "That sounds like a plan to me, Drew."

The last rookie, a young man of Punjabi descent, growled in frustrated desperation. "Stop trying to leave! This is as much my responsibility as it is yours!"

The arguing continued spilling on, and since he was racing time, Dean decided to switch plans. They'd have to make their opportunity for escape.

Ambrose turned fully to Roman, nudging him to play along. When the signal was received he began piping up a conversation. "So I can not wait until we get out of here in the morning. The bed is hard, this basement stinks, and it's usually too quiet."

"Yeah, we don't even have twelve hours in here really." Roman added.

Almost instantly the trio quieted down a bit and Heath stepped forward. "Wait, they're cutting you two loose?"

"That's what they said. Realized they had the wrong guys." Looking up at him, Dean innocently lied. "But, it was just a formality for us to be in here. Honestly I can't believe they made you guys work tonight. All three of you watching two locked up innocent men? Sounds wasteful."

"Even having one night guard seems like its just a waste of money," Reigns fiddled with his thumbs.

By this time, Heath and his crew were completely entrapped by the idea. They looked between each other skeptically before coming to a consensus. "Well if you are being released in the morning ain't no point in us keeping an eye on you."

"Right," Drew nodded in agreement. "And it's not like your going anywhere either." Waiting for the last of the verbal alliance, Heath and Drew looked to Jinder. He seemed to have been battling himself with a response. "Well?"

"I mean, it sounds good and I want to leave as much as the next guy but..." The rookie officer shook his head, folding his arms and stepping away from the cell. "I think we should just stay at our post."

Heath groaned in exasperation. "What? Are you kidding me? Why?"

"Because," Jinder calmed the man, " Think about it. Anyone else would leave, right? Any other rookies would just give up on their job and walk out. Well maybe this is our chance to prove to the Lieutenant that we can pull all night jobs. This could easily bump us up on the ladder. "

The lightbulb went off in Drew's head first, a huge grin forming on his face. Turning, he shared the smile with Heath. The strawberry blonde nodded rhythmically. "Looks like the three man band is staying!" All three men threw up weird hand signals and strummed on air instruments.

"Hey, and we're such big rockstars, I bet we could have karaoke night in this basement." Excitedly Drew added the inclination.

Heath was right behind him in compliance. "Let's take it from the top. One, two. A one, two, three-"

Just as the rookie was about to open his mouth, a loud chop rang through the air and instantly he was knocked out. Not realizing what happened, Jinder turned around only to have the same thing happen to him. Drew, being the last to go down, tried to put up a fight but was struck down by a kick to the head. Amongst the rubble stood the uncaptivated member of the Shield, Seth Rollins. He stood with his arms folded before smiling to Dean. "Just improvising the plan."

"Thank you." Ambrose rolled his eyes rather gratefully. "Because if they sang, that would be an injustice."

Roman and Seth chuckled together before Ambrose pointed to the downed men. "Alright, get the keys." He looked again at the rubble and nodded. "And their uniforms."

Rollins had no objections, moving quickly to retrieve the materials. He passed the uniforms through the holding cell bars and configured with the keys to release his teammates. Quietly he glided open the door and, amidst the turmoil, stopped to appreciate watching Dean and Roman change. It was never a wrong time to do that.

"Hey," Ambrose interrupted the ogling, tucking the fitted uniform shirt in his pants. "You can perv all you want when we get out of this place."

The chuckle Roman sent Rollin's way was soft as he put his officers cap on to finish dressing. Looking like the typical enforcers for justice, the men hurriedly walked up from the basement. They looked around the empty station floor and preceded quietly to the front door. Just as they approached the glass, headlights came beaming in from outside. The group scattered frantically, choosing the closest places to hide. They watched the door carefully.

Moments after the jingling of keys reverberated against the glass door, the lock turned rather quietly. Whoever was entering the building had a tad more regard than necessary; it had to have been another officer. Each member cut their eyes in the general direction and were not thrilled to meet the lean figure of Officer Orton. Things had suddenly became very risky.

"Hey boys," Randy cheerfully yelled down the hall. "I got good news! Your court date's been set!" He smirked rather happily and strutted once more.

The trio waited patiently in the still until Randy was down the hall, out of everyone's line of sight then they moved. Sneakily they crept up from their hiding spaces and inched towards the door with little to no noise. Seth's gloved hand was the first to reach for the handle and as he twisted slowly he jolted. Out of nowhere rang the exceedingly loud yell of Randy Orton proclaiming his wrath against the Shield for escaping. Much more hastily the men fled out the station and into one of the police cars. Their chance for getting away was now.

Outside it wasn't that hard to identify the car belonging to the three gentlemen; they had undoubtably ruled in the vehicle with "3MB" on the license plate. With the keys taken from earlier, Roman cranked up the vehicle and everyone jumped in. They had to make this escape as quickly as possible, so with no regard for their own safety, Reigns took off like a bullet.

Orton's body was seen in the rearview running out the station and sending a death glare in the three men's direction. Subsequently, he rushed to his own car and took off behind them.

The late night shadows were scathed off as the tale of their rambunctious chase was personified. The sounds of screeching tires cutting corners and the sirens blared through the city streets. Ambrose himself could appreciate the spectacle of a high speed chase. Things outside the window seemed like a mere blur but Roman forged his way down the roadway.

"Orton's catching up," Seth whined rather impatiently.

Reigns swiped a glance in his rearview before cussing lightly. "What do we do?"

The cooler head, Dean, rummaged around in the car. Finding very little, he forcefully broke the lock on the glove compartment, popping it open. Perfect. The emergency gun. He shoved Seth, who was in the second row, to the side and forced the back seat down. Disheveled, he handed the gun to Seth. "Ease through there. Get in the trunk and kick out the taillight. Get a good shot and blow out those tires. We have to slow Orton down."

Rollins quickly nodded in agreement and scrambled for the dark enclosure. Focusing, he moved in the empty space, feeling around for his goal. Quickly it was reached and he used the little force he could muster to assault the light. Once it was removed, he scouted around for his shot. Orton was luckily riding their bumper and made his downfall all the more easy. Seth aimed as precisely as he could and fired, the results showing seconds later as Orton swerved with suddenness.

Roman took the opportunity to speed up further. Ambrose voiced his congratulations to Rollins before turning to face their path. They were nearly out of the city limits. From there they could easily reach the airport and they'd be free men by morning. "Finally," Dean sighed, "we can put all this behind u-"

Before he could finish, high beams flashed in his peripheral. Sharply he turned and noticed the even faster approaching vehicle. "Rome!" His warning was never heard as the other car smashed their police car full on. Both vehicles skid across the gravel, the force of the collision sending them careening into a building. The intruder's vehicle had forcefully turned the Shield's car on its side against the building wall. Glass on the lower levels shattered in large pieces as it broke down over the vehicles. The booming collapse was as loud as it could be, rattling the once sleepy city. Then all the commotion settled down.

It was deathly quite aside from Orton's sirens approaching. The officer stopped abruptly and jumped from his car, racing over to the scene. A few feet away he stood and watched.

Dean's raunchy whimper was among the first sounds to be heard. Painfully, he contorted his body to kick out his door that had become concave in the wreck. He clenched his teeth in agony as he effortfully pushed the steel, breaking it from its hinges eventually. Reaching the outside, Ambrose inhaled as best he could before checking his own condition; he felt his ribs break on impact but even further a piece of shattered glass had cut him jut below the eye. What a fortunate misfortune that was.

Finding the strength to rock the car back up enough and allow his escape, Roman was the next to rise from the wreckage. His growl of pain was vocalized loudly as he stood to his feet and cradled his own wounded shoulder. Even louder was a frantic banging sound seemingly from out of nowhere. Pale eyes locked with Dean's before they both immediately started limping to the trunk of the damaged vehicle.

Hurried hands pried open the destructed trunk, using their strength to pop the lock. Carefully they yanked Seth from the cramped space, gaining his cry of agony from the treatment. The bullet wound in his leg had reopened, blood staining his pants once again. Rollins tried to stand on his own, falling to the ground from the discomfort. Roman kneeled to aid the man but was stopped by the sound of a cocking gun. Three sets of eyes jerked forward and bulged in response to the threat.

Daniel Bryan.

The bearded officer, no more than a foot away, held his weapon firm with a canary-eating grin. Unscathed in the collision, he was far more capable of mobility than the severally injured men. Stunned silence wafted in the air until Daniel showed off his pearly whites. "It's over."

Seth reacted first, his harsh voice overpowering the situation. "Yeah, your career is over! Assault on innocent civilians?"

"Right. Innocent." Bryan shook his head. "We're going down to the station."

"This case is supposed to be closed in the morning. Why are you still on it?!" Dean spat, clutching his broken body.

Daniel chuckled in amusement. "Nice try but that case isn't closed. Orton's got the evidence, and once he turns it in, I'll turn you in. The brass will promote me for sure after I bring down you three."

Roman clenched his jaw, seething. Seth and Dean looked just as repulsed as a wave of sadness washed over them. Ambrose cursed loudly to the heavens and his cohorts heads' dropped. This was the end of the line. Seeing no other option, the trio stood as best as they could, to their feet and held their hands high.

The victorious grin that appeared seemed to seal the idea of defeat. There was no use for any nonsensical attempt at rebellion. They'd been caught for good. "It's gonna be so easy when I take you in." Daniel's smile dropped slowly before his grip tightened on the gun, intent evident in his eyes. His face was deathly serious now, "but ending it here would be so much easier." No words could explain how quick all the attention was on Bryan. Too outraged to form words, each of the captives' eyes held doubtful questioning. "If I get rid of you now there will be no court date, no media swarming our department, no extra weight anywhere. To thank me they'll sweep it under the rug. No investigation." Bryan cocked the gun loudly. "And no more you."

Disbelief colored the suddenly pale faces of the renegades as silence gripped the atmosphere. "You...you wouldn't!" Seth shakily yelled. "No!"

"Yes," Daniel grimly nodded, "Yes I would, and you know what, I think you'll be first." His gun snapped to Rollins, exposing the barrel to worried eyes. Daniel yelled once more in victory before pulling the trigger with unparalleled speed. There was no victimized scream from the men.

Just stunned silence.

And Daniel Bryan writhing on the ground in pain.

A bullet had found its way into his leg, the wound similar in fashion to Seth's once shot limb. All three men stared incredulously at the grounded officer before searching for the shooter. Roman saw the assailant approaching first, and nudged the others. "Look," he ordered softly.

Strolling casually towards the threesome was the man previously in pursuit of them. Ambrose quirked his brow in confusion, "Orton?" Defensively he stood in front of his team. "Plan to take us in yourself, huh?"

Randy answered the skepticism as calmly as possible. "I'm tired of this job." He snatched off his badge and tossed it to the concrete, his gun following after. "John's been begging me to quit. Says this job is to dangerous." Looking between the casualties of a brutal crash, Orton shrugged in general acceptance. "But I got offered a job in the boxing league." He cast a down gaze to Bryan and then back to the boys. Seriously unreadable eyes peered through them. "So this won't be the last time we fight." The optics soon soften if only slightly and Randy closes his eyes. "Or maybe we'll be fighting together. In that business, you'll never know." There was a smirk that seemed to play across the cop's lips as he decided to retrieve Daniel. Heaving the man over his shoulder, Orton turned to survey the younger men. He nodded to them before throwing something their way. "Here. Dispatch sent out a call a while ago."

Dean quickly opened his palm to catch the jingly item tossed his way: a set of keys. No words came to any of their mouths yet, taking everything in but still lightly shocked. "Go," Randy commanded as he motioned to his car. "I'll get rid of that evidence I found when I get to the station. The case is closed, right?"

Everyone had their reservations but Ambrose was the first to pick up on the sirens in the distance. He thanked Randy with his eyes while his mouth ushered his friends away. "Let's go." Dean nudged the Shield mates and handed the keys to Roman. Wordlessly, the others shifted into gear and they all three jumped in the only stable car around. Roman took off like a bullet once more, determined this time to make it past the city limits where the airport lied. What was past that, they didn't know, but they'd vowed to get there this time.

:::

"Dean. Hey, Dean, wake up."

Ambrose carefully cracked his eyes open, his arm automatically going back to cradling his broken body. He wished he hadn't fallen asleep on the flight, now his neck was stiff. Then again, waking up to see Seth made it bearable. He rolled over slightly and saw Roman trying to regain alertness. He also nursed his shoulder as he came back into consciousness.

Smiling, Seth opened his window and pointed out. "Look, we're almost there. See that island? We're almost there."

Ambrose tiredly rubbed his eyes and blinked in curiosity. "And why are we going there exactly?" He remembered passing out before they got to the airport. Luckily, Roman was strong enough for the both of them.

A groan cleared Reigns' throat as he sat straight up to stretch. "My family lives down there. I have cousins in the league so they basically abandon the place when they work. I figured we could stay there until all this blows over."

"And I already put in vacation time with our boss," Rollins added, gaining the attention of Ambrose once more. "An island vacation sounds cool," he laughed.

Dean gave a sort of funky look as he viewed the island below. It looked...quiet, peaceful, tranquil even. Yet...

"You're out of it, Dean." Ambrose shifted his gaze between Seth and Roman to notice the two faces eyeballing him.

"Huh?"

Seth nudged him with an elbow, "I said, you're out of it."

Dean knew his friends could read him like a book sometimes so he didn't deny it. "It's just...I don't know. This isn't where I expected us to be."

"But this place is secluded. No ones gonna do any of those bad things you were talking about. They'll take us in and help us with our injuries. You'd be surprised how welcoming my family is." Roman defended his home.

"I'm sure," Dean sighed, "but I think-"

"Your priorities changed?" Seth interrupted knowingly.

"No," Dean tried to explain, "I just didn't want to get what I wanted by running away. I can't stay here for a few months until this blows over. Guys, I belong in a ring in the city, fighting for what we deserve. Fighting for us. I mean we fought so hard to get into the city and now we're leaving? Then what was it all for?"

Roman was a tad surprised at the out pour but it turned to a smile that affected Seth just as quickly. "Whenever you talk, you make too much sense for your own good." He pinched his cheek slightly and pulled his face. "But you definitely over think sometimes."

"Wha?" Ambrose pouted.

"You do." Seth grabbed the other cheek and yanked Dean's face playfully. "No one said anything about staying a few months. We're only staying for like a week. We don't get that many paid vacation days."

Ambrose embarrassedly swatted their hands away from him. "But you said-"

"Rome said for a while. You don't listen. " Seth interjected with a chuckle. "But you will want to listen to this: The head of the company called and he says he's got more competition for us when we get back. That means more matches, more championships, and more money." Rollins could see the excitement flash across Dean's eyes. "No misunderstanding that, right?"

Ambrose couldn't contain the smile that overtook his face. His pearly whites were so rare to witness on full display that his teammates basked in it for a while before wrapping themselves around him. "You're so cute," the men agreed in unison while Ambrose tried to escape their affection.

"C'mon, we're on a plane!" Dean complained halfheartedly and the smile still hadn't subsided. "You two brats, are annoying!"

Seth snuggled the smooth skin of Dean's clean shaven face and Roman found peace in wrapping his good arm around both men's shoulders protectively. Dean reluctantly returned the affection before looking out the window at the island again. They'd be landing soon. "I guess I will enjoy this vacation- but after that its right back to business!"

"Of course," Seth snuggled firmer.

"We said we'd follow you until the end, Dean." Roman stared into the man's eyes. "And we meant it."

Ambrose's face instantly grew red and he shoved the men away. "Embarrassing."

Trying to lighten the conversation, Rollins flirtatiously tugged on the waistband of Ambrose's paints. "I can't wait to see you in one of those Samoan skirts Rome used to wear." His eyebrows jumped suggestively. "You'll look like a total surfer boy."

"It's called a lava lava," Roman corrected.

"I'm sure it is because you'll both be so hot in it," the corniness of the whole thing lead to Dean ordering him to shut his mouth. That, however, didn't slow Rollins down. "Oh and I bet you'll get super tan. You're so pasty sometimes." He guffawed loudly at the thought, "I bet you'll be darker than Rome by the time we leave!"

Ambrose snapped then, cussing so violently in his seat that a stewardess had to come and contain him. Roman and Seth continued to laugh at the whole ordeal, happier than they had been for the past few months.

After everything that had transpired, the Shield was still standing. The Shield had not been broken, and they were possibly stronger than ever. They weren't sure what the consequences for their vices would be, or if this all would backfire on them, but at least the world around them wasn't falling apart. Their choice for the "better life" was going to keep them fighting but they wanted that. Seth, Roman, and Dean knew that they'd have to fight to define their own justice, and honestly...

It didn't seem like such a bad idea.

* * *

The End


End file.
